9 Social Evils That Still Exist In Our Society

The reach of progress is limited within the world we live in when we look at how heinous social evils continue to take the lives of innocents. While we live in the 21st century and enjoy its modern upcoming parade of inventions that makes our lives easier, a large portion of our society still falls victim to age-old social evils on a daily basis. There are numerous social evils in existent that are morally wrong and cruel.

To know more about what kind of social evils, we must look at how some specifics forms of the same continue to affect us today;

1. Dowry

Dowry is an archaic practice that continued in most ancient civilizations and continues to still exist in some. Practices like dowry usually take place during marriage, where generally the bride’s side offers property, gifts, property, or money to the grooms’ side. The vice versa is also true and still in existence, but most controversy surrounds in the reports where the bride’s side pays offerings to the groom’s family while offering their daughter’s hand in the marriage too. Dowry is a social evil that brings on immense pressure and demand for fulfillment upon the bride’s family and also torture, even murder at the hands of the in-law of the bride. In 2019 alone more than seven thousand dowry-related deaths were reported in India. Though the number has subtlety decreased from earlier statistics, there still exists room for improvement. 

2. Child Marriage

Marriage is a bond that binds to partners in the eyes of law. Though the definitions of marriage have changed over a couple of years, marriages are generally made to form a family. This union between two partners called marriage is universally recognized when the two partners are of legal age, sound mind, and give their consent to the union. Child marriages are an objectionable bond created between young children or adolescents who are barely adults. These types of marriages still exist in today’s society as a social evil, popularly forced upon by families and society. 

3. Female Infanticide

Bringing a new life into the world is a blessing in itself. But a prominent social evil that still continues to persist today forces the killing of female/girl child in the womb. This is called female infanticide. There are numerous for female infanticide and why they take place; to continue the male hierarchy and bloodline in the family or in foresight of ‘troubles’ a female child would cause. Although laws exist to prevent female infanticide and they have been successful to a large extent, this social evil even now continues to remain. 

4. Gender Bias

Gender bias is experienced and witnessed on a large scale even in today’s society. Gender bias signifies the prejudice in job sectors, education, payment, and allocation of work in the name of socially constructed roles, characteristics, and behaviors. There exists pre-eminent discrimination mostly against females who are said to the ‘weaker’ gender and how they can not perform the same quality of labor as men. This also leads to a difference in pay-gap at the end for the same amount of work equating to the male counterpart at the same post. 

5. Poverty 

Poverty is a major issue in today’s capitalistic society. While there is enough resource to uplift the poor at the bottom of the social spectrum, not much effort is made by the government as it does not suit their agenda. More than a quarter of the global population lives in conditions that signal poverty. There is nothing to be romanticized about poverty. Poverty certainly does not exists as a motivating factor when people are thinking about how they are going to feed themselves and their families the next day. In short, poverty is a social evil and a global issue. Countries should join hands to combat this social evil together to make it a success. 

Anyone who has ever struggled with poverty knows how extremely expensive it is to be poor.

James Baldwin

6. Illiteracy

Illiteracy prevails as a social evil in the current age that prevents young children from gaining knowledge about how to read and write. Literacy is one of the most essential needs for human survival at present. Without being literate, one can not continue with their lives in this world like gain employment or function in a normal society. What causes illiteracy to persist is the lack of financial capability among the poor to send their kids to school. Also, ignorance regarding the boons of literacy. 

7. Domestic Violence

Domestic violence is an inhumane social evil existing all over the world in some form. This form of violence happens within the place of habitat, at the hands of a partner, parent, or a closed family member. Thus, the name domestic is involved. Several domestic violence situations often go unreported at the fear of turning their backs on family members, at the terror of a larger threat, or subsequent guilt in the abuser that subdues the voice of the victim, causing them not to report. Domestic violence cases are often not taken seriously by law enforcement which often leads to a greater level of violence taking place, sometimes leading to death. 

8. Abuse Against Children

Child abuse or abuse against children is a social evil that exists in several forms. Child abuse generally takes place at home and outside. At the hands of parents or child labor’s employer, young children are made to live under horrendous conditions. This, as a result, takes a massive toll on the health and mental development of children growing up when their body and mind are still not developed. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), around a billion young children globally, aged 2-17 have suffered some form of abuse.

9. Prejudice based on Caste and Religion

Social evils are often archaic and have been passed down from generation. One such example of social evil is the prejudice based on caste and religion in society. While we walk on the path of progress and development, society continues to adjoin a person’s caste and/or religion as a part of their identity. While caste and/or religion do shape an individual’s personality and play a large part in their upbringing, they simply should not matter to anyone else but the person themselves. Unfortunately, discrimination still perseveres in a direct/indirect form based on caste and/or religion in social institutions and society at large. 

Several other forms of social evils persist at present in society racism, alcoholism, superstitions, prostitution, and more. Society and the government should take measures to eradicate these social evils from modern society so that everyone can walk on the path of development at the same pace.