Role of Society in combating the menace of begging

Muhammad MuazzamI shaque and Dr. Mahboob ur Rehman Qureshi

Department of Islamic Studies, Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science and Technology, Islamabad

Abstract - Begging has become an evil of the society. Professional beggars have made it a difficult
choice for people who wish to help the needy. If you help one beggar, the other beggars around you, will
rush towards you and you will pester with their questions and demands. Such situations make one
annoyed and hence results into yelling situations. Much has been researched out for policy makers and
governments to take steps to eradicate or reduce the begging problem but the problem is keep on
increasing rather decreasing1. This articles tries to find a solution to overwhelming begging problem from
a sociological point of view and will try to establish a link of social response to reduce begging in society
and will also try to raise some questions for future research towards the same to help reduce the begging
problem.

Introduction

Streets of underdeveloped countries are overwhelmed with beggars and no street, chowk, traffic signal,
market, road and garden is free of beggars. They reach you at your home, follow you to your office and
question you at bus stop. Beggars determine your position by your getup and customize their request
for you as per your look. People wishes to help them as to please GOD but growing numbers of beggars
have puzzled them to help or not to help.Lack of education becomes the main cause for the people to
come on roads for begging2 and hence replying them on their demands or questions requires proper
methodology.

Islam as a perfect religion encourages giving alms to the needy but on the same token does not frown
begging if need arises3. It is clearly not liked to beg from other creatures4 (Sunan An-Nasa’i 2586). It is
also pertinent from the Islamic perspective that the upper hand is better than the lower hand5. So the
situation requires more exploration and research to understand the perspective of dealing with the
situations when it comes to begging as at one end religion promotes charity and giving alms and on the
other hand if someone is not been able to fulfil his/her needs and asks for it, it is not liked.

1
O. A. Fawole, D. V. Ogunkan, and A. Omoruan, “The Menace of Begging in Nigerian Cities: A Sociological Analysis,”
January 1, 2011, https://www.scienceopen.com/document?vid=c87c4ae6-55a9-4ad4-ae91-327824c4c0e2.
2
David V. Ogunkan and Olufemi A. Fawole, “Incidence and Socio-Economic Dimensions of Begging in Nigerian
Cities: The Case of Ogbomoso,” International NGO Journal 4, no. 12 (December 30, 2009): 498–503.
3
Rtp M. O. Mnitp, “Street- Begging in Cities: Cultural, Political and Socio-Economic Questions,” Global Journal of
Human-Social Science Research 13, no. 5 (September 25, 2013),
http://www.socialscienceresearch.org/index.php/GJHSS/article/view/785.
4
“Hadith on Begging: If You Knew How Bad It Was to Beg, Then No One Would Ever Beg from People,” Daily Hadith
Online, September 3, 2012, http://dailyhadith.abuaminaelias.com/2012/09/02/hadith-on-begging-if-you-knew-
how-bad-it-was-to-beg-then-no-one-would-ever-beg-from-people/.
5
“DISAPPROVAL OF BEGGING FROM PEOPLE - Sahih Muslim, Volume 5 - Hadith,” accessed December 20, 2016,
http://www.theonlyquran.com/hadith/Sahih-Muslim/?volume=5&chapter=33.
This paper looks at the begging problem from a different perspective of attitudeof society towards
beggars, its effects on reducing the problem and from the subjects to suggest most appropriate
response to someone who beg for help or favor.This paper actually prepares the ground as well as gives
directions for empirical studies, which may emanate from such studythat attempts to explain, confirm,
validate, constructsand hypotheses that are products of this piece.

A perfect response to the one who beg to you for his/her need of the problem has been researched out
from various sources. There has a lot been researched on the issues that focuses the problem of begging
from religious, social, socio-economic, cultural, political and associated impacts perspective but from the
perspective of dealing the beggars the researchers yet not take much step forward.

Begging when looked from the social perspective its looks as a social problem and hence requires the
empathetic, clarification, and forecast require a systematic knowledge of the social forces that promote
it6. It has also been discussed that begging is a cause of rapid urbanization where some people with low
capabilities or willingness have been forced to depend on marginal subsistence activities like begging for
alms7. Researchers have worked to categorize the beggars as beggars of the street families, beggars in
the street, beggars on the streets and beggars of the street who adopted beggary as an outcome of
poverty, unemployment, family disintegration or physical challenges8.Begging has been hypothesized as
product of poverty whereas chronic beggary or begging habit has been thought as a product of
beggary9. Different interventions has also been recommended to address the issue of beggary that
relates to prevention, perception and responsiveness of policy makers and local governments for the
devising of appropriate strategies to resolve the growing phenomenon of beggary. Some researchers
has also focused on the reactions of passerby’s on the alms requests made by beggars as harsh
sometimes or generous to most of the times for elderly or physically disabled peoples10.Begging has also
been responded within a Human Rights Framework to reiterate the provision of basic facilities of life to
all human in a geographical location as lack of any/all causes the birth of begging11.

So it is obvious from the review of the literature that enough has been written on the causes,
categorization and solution to the begging problem in different areas of the world from sociological,
economical and cultural perspectives. The researchers have not yet much research towards the area of
dealing with the beggars as the problem is keep on increasing rather decreasing, so it is deemed
necessary to put some research on the issue of dealing with the beggars in day to day life.

6
Fawole, Ogunkan, and Omoruan, “The Menace of Begging in Nigerian Cities.”
7
“Begging in Dublin: ‘The Strategies of a Marginal Urban Occupation’ - ProQuest,” accessed December 26, 2016,
http://search.proquest.com/openview/88b766199f6d025d52030628c6e7c667/1?pq-
origsite=gscholar&cbl=1821467.
8
Baltazar M. L. Namwata, Maseke R. Mgabo, and Provident Dimoso, “CATEGORIES OF STREET BEGGARS AND
FACTORS INFLUENCING STREET BEGGING IN CENTRAL TANZANIA,” June 2012, doi:10.14989/158998.
9
M. O. Mnitp, “Street- Begging in Cities.”
10
Namwata, Mgabo, and Dimoso, “CATEGORIES OF STREET BEGGARS AND FACTORS INFLUENCING STREET
BEGGING IN CENTRAL TANZANIA.”
11
“Lynch, Philip --- ‘Understanding and Responding to Begging’ [2005] MelbULawRw 16; (2005) 29(2) Melbourne
University Law Review 518,” accessed December 27, 2016,
http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/MelbULawRw/2005/16.html.
Method
The research adopts qualitative analysis technique to gain an understanding of underlying
reasons, opinions, and motivations related to helping the needy or who beg for help. The method used
to conduct this research is a review and analysis of the existing literature. It provides insights into the
questions raised in the problem statementto help the people who wishes to help the needy. The
research methodology is also used to uncover the trends in thought and opinions, to dig deeper into the
problem faced by common people because of the overwhelming begging situations. It uses unstructured
interviews based on grounded theory12 with ethnography methodology13.Structured questionnaires
were designed and administered to 65 street beggars. The selection of beggars was based upon a
convenience sampling techniquefrom various public spaces. Primary data was also collected through
focus-group discussions, key-informant interviews, and observations. Out of 65 beggars only 35 beggars
shows their willingness to answer the survey questions. 21 women and 9 men denied to respond to
answer any question. 16 beggars only answer few questions and left the survey. 19 beggars responded
to the full survey.

Sampling size technique:

Sampling size is based on theoretical saturation14 and theoretical sampling methodology as
described in the grounded theory methodology. The sampling technique used is random sampling in
combination of snowball sampling for data collection.

Results and Discussion

Results of the study can be better explained by first analyzing the categories of beggars as the
response to a beggar is strictly modified by the passerby depending on the category of beggar. After
defining the categories, we will discuss the responses of passerby as a response to our questionnaire
asked from beggars and try to categorize the responses into definable categories. On the basis of the
data analysis the research will tryconclude the perfect response and will raise some more questions for
the future research in the same topic.

Categories of Beggars
Begging has multi-facet associations with insufficient housing, mental illness, drug
dependency,homelessness, poverty, low income support and fewer health care services15. Beggars are
classified into different categories with respect to shelter16 or with respect to the cause that leads an
individual to beg17. In western world the classification of the beggars are based upon type of non-worker

12
“Grounded Theory,” Wikipedia, December 5, 2016,
https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Grounded_theory&oldid=753134437.
13
John H. Goldthorpe, “Causation, Statistics, and Sociology,” European Sociological Review 17, no. 1 (March 1,
2001): 1–20, doi:10.1093/esr/17.1.1.
14
Michael Bloor and Fiona Wood, Theoretical Saturation: Qualitative Methods (1 Oliver’s Yard, 55 City
Road, London England EC1Y 1SP United Kingdom: SAGE Publications Ltd, 2006),
http://methods.sagepub.com/book/keywords-in-qualitative-methods.
15
“Lynch, Philip --- ‘Understanding and Responding to Begging’ [2005] MelbULawRw 16; (2005) 29(2) Melbourne
University Law Review 518.”
16
Namwata, Mgabo, and Dimoso, “CATEGORIES OF STREET BEGGARS AND FACTORS INFLUENCING STREET
BEGGING IN CENTRAL TANZANIA.”
17
M. O. Mnitp, “Street- Begging in Cities.”
and hence declared beggar as someone who is non-worker whether migrant, non-migrant or static18.
Medical conditions are also plays very important role in begging to create sympathy for the beggar or to
attract the passer by to listen to the problem of the beggar to give alms19,20.

Shelter Non-worker Cause Medical

On the street Hoboes Poverty Mental illness
In the street Tramps Habit Physical disability
Of the street Bums Drug abuse
Of the street family

It is obvious that beggar’s objective is to draw attention from the passerby to get some alms out of
his/her pocket. To achieve their goal beggars uses whatever techniques or gestures it may take and
hence categorized on the basis of the choice of begging strategy.

In the developing countries,begging is one of the age-long activities in urban areas and has become
occupations of the poverty ridden individuals of the society. Begging is not specific to developing
countries as it has now become a universal phenomenonand a global urban problem21. So in developing
countries people face beggars all around them and hence categorize them on two broader categories:

1. People in need
2. People in habit

Passerby’s usually think of beggars more eligible for alms who belong to following categories:

1. Medical illness
2. Old age
3. Women with newly born children
4. Small children with less clothing in cold weather

Rest all other categories of the beggar’s appearance or gestures are treated as people in habit of
begging. This typical behavior of the passerby’s is developed because of the day to day interaction with
overwhelming number of beggars and situation or response may be different in an area where
concentration of beggars is low as comparison to the developing countries.

The gender-wise response from passersby’s is reflected in [Graph 1].

18
KATAYUN H. CAMA, M.A. (Bom,), M.SC., ph,D., “Our Beggar Problem,” accessed December 27, 2016,
https://archive.org/stream/ourbeggarproblem029789mbp/ourbeggarproblem029789mbp_djvu.txt.
19
Kabiru K. Salami and Aishat O. Olugbayo, “Health-Seeking Behavior of Migrant Beggars in Ibadan, Southwestern
Nigeria,” Health 5, no. 4 (April 11, 2013): 792, doi:10.4236/health.2013.54105.
20
Joseph Westermeyer and John Neider, “Mentally Ill Foragers and Beggars in a Peasant Society: Their Social
Networks and Psychopathology,” International Journal of Family Therapy 3, no. 4 (December 1, 1981): 295–309,
doi:10.1007/BF00924357.
21
D. V. Ogunkan* and M. O. Jelili, “The Influence of Land Use on the Spatial Variation of Begging in Ogbomoso,
Nigeria - ProQuest,” Journal of Geography and Regional Planning Vol. 3(4), Pp. 73-83, April 2010, accessed
December 27, 2016, http://search.proquest.com/openview/c37e2519021a8673973392c79b42a282/1?pq-
origsite=gscholar.
Categories of responses
itis a usual day scene finding a street beggars beg from passersby or pedestrians by stretching their
arms out and uttering different phrases22.Beggars usually classify the passerby with respect to the giving
attitude of individuals. Following responses are categorized from the survey questionnaire:

Exclusive/Warming

- No special kind of people. Anyone can give such response

- Very rare
- Remarkable
- Memorable

Charitable

- People with children and/or women tends to be more charitable

- Old age people are more charitable
- People from middle income background are more charitable

Apologetic

- Well-dressed people
- Women of young age

No response

- Women are less responsive (as they might be normally engaged in some other thought or with
their children)
- Middle age men
- Motorcycle riders

Yelling/annoying/humiliating

- Teenagers
- Fat people
- Rich people

Responses are analyzed through graphs to determine the perfect response or behavior for the beggars
to put them back to normal life. [Graph-1] shows the relationship of gender with the type of response
from the passerby. It helps to determine the gender perspective of responses and attitude of passerby
towards the gender.

22
Namwata, Mgabo, and Dimoso, “CATEGORIES OF STREET BEGGARS AND FACTORS INFLUENCING STREET
BEGGING IN CENTRAL TANZANIA.”
[Graph-1]

[Graph-2] shows the relationship of physical appearance and gender with the type of response
from the passerby. It helps to determine the importance of physical appearance and gender perspective
of responses and attitude of passerby towards the appearance of beggars.

[Graph-1]

[Graph-3] shows the relationship of age group with the type of response from the passerby. It
helps to determine the importance of age factor for the response and attitude of passerby towards the
appearance of beggars.
[Graph-3]

Perfect response
A perfect response has been researched out from religious sculptures as GOD is the one who
created the human beings and knows the best (Quran 2:216) (Psalm 147:5) which even we might not
able to get or understand. Two most orthodox religions of the world has been searched for the
information i.e. Christianity and Islam. Christianity encourages alms giving in the (Psalm 41:1) and
(Proverbs 28:27). In Christianity there is silence on the event of begging. Islam on the other side has
made “zakat” an alms giving on the annual basis from the one or more than one years fixed assets of
rich to poor is the part of foundation of it and hence made it necessary for the rich to help the poor. It is
also prohibited to curse the needy in the Holy Book (Quran 93:10). Whereas on the other side, Islam
condemns seriously begging for help from creatures of GOD by leaving GOD aside.

It is further analyzed that when those people who are giving alms to beggars pay attention to
their request or problem, it makes them enlightened and feel light. If people hug them before giving
them alms it makes a memorable incidence for them and gives them sense of existential significance23.
Such behavior of the society to the needy on road can help to turn the extent of issue to bring down.
Building a relationship with the beggars from the society on a person level will help to track the change
that can take place in a beggar towards playing their role towards dignified ways of earning the
livelihood. Such relationships are never been experienced by beggars on a long term basis whereas it is
in their experience that people do give promising response to beggars in rare times.

It is also important here to understand that beggars having such physical disabilities that
prohibits them to earn their livelihood should be handled separately to this approach although the
response to their requests will always be handled with the same politeness and humbleness that any
other human demands.

Future research questions

23
“The Physiological Benefits of Hugging -,” SOTT.net, accessed January 3, 2017,
https://www.sott.net/article/291786-The-physiological-benefits-of-hugging.
 It is pertinent to mention here that it has not been researched out that whether a better
response to beggars can help reduce the beggary problem or not. As it has been researched out that
lack of education plays an important role in the increase of beggary24,25 so might a qualified and
educated response be effective for the reduction of begging. So looking at the problem from different
perspective may help reducing the problem at large. One of the very unusual finding of the survey is the
behavior of the fat people that needs more research from roadside accidents perspective, work
environment perspective and their behavior in markets.

Conclusion
This behavioral study of beggars in response to their alms requests to passers reveals that a
good behavior never meant as encouragement to beg in beggar’s opinion. None of the beggar accepted
that fact that they are begging as habit but the realities of their life turns them to beg for help from the
people like them. Beggars are begging in the society and society can transform them to play their role
for the benefits of society. Governments and their policies will rarely help to reduce the problem as
much has been written to handle the problem but beggars are keep on increasing whereas society can
help to reduce this problem a lot. It is the need of the time to involve local bodies to train people to
build relationships with beggars to take them back to society with a dignified way of earning their
livelihood.

24
M. Doğan Karacoşkun, “Beggary As A Means Of Emotional Exploitation: A Qualitative Inquiry Into The Beggary In
Sivas,” Dinbilimleri Akademik Araştırma Dergisi 9, no. 4 (2009): 39–49.
25
Dr Malarvizhi V and Dr K. T. Geetha, “Socio-Economic Issues Of Beggary: A Study Of Beggars In Coimbatore City,”
IRA-International Journal of Management & Social Sciences (ISSN 2455-2267) 3, no. 2 (May 19, 2016),
doi:10.21013/jmss.v3.n2.p8.