Marginalisation

Introduction

Marginality is an experience that affects millions of people throughout the world. People who are marginalized have relatively little control over their lives, and the resources available to them. This results in making them handicapped in delving contribution to society. A vicious circle is set up whereby their lack of positive and supportive relationships means that they are prevented from participating in local life, which in turn leads to further isolation. This has a tremendous impact on development of human beings, as well as on society at large. As the objective of development is to create an enabling environment for people to enjoy a productive, healthy, and creative life, it is important to address the issue of marginalization.

The Meaning and Nature of Marginalization

In general, the term ‘marginalization’ describes the overt actions or tendencies of human societies, where people who they perceive to undesirabile, or without useful function are excluded, i.e., marginalized. The people who are marginalized are outside the existing systems of protection and integration. This limits their opportunities and means for survival. The term has been defined in the following ways:

Peter Leonard defines marginality as, “…being outside the mainstream of productive activity and/or social reproductive activity”

The Encyclopedia of Public Health defines marginalization as, “To be marginalized is to be placed in the margins, and thus excluded from the privilege and power found at the center”.

Laitin observes that, “”Marginality’ is so thoroughly demeaning, for economic well-being, for human dignity, as well as for physical security. Marginal peoples can always be identified by members of dominant society, and will face irrevocable discrimination.”

Merriam – Webster’s online dictionary definition of the term, marginalize, is “to relegate to an unimportant, or powerless position within a society or group”

Ghana S. Gurung and Michael Kollmair mention that the concept of marginality is generally used to analyse socioeconomic, political, and cultural spheres, where disadvantaged people struggle to gain access to resources and full participation in social life. In other words, marginalized people might be socially, economically, politically and legally ignored, excluded, or neglected, and, therefore vulnerable to livelihood change.

According to Sommers et. al., “Socio-economic marginality is a condition of socio-spatial structure and process in which components of society and space in a territorial unit are observed to lag behind an expected level of performance in economic, political and social well being, compared with average conditions in the territory as a whole”

These definitions are mentioned in different contexts, and show that marginalization is a slippery and multilayered concept. To further clarify the meaning and concept let us discuss certain features of marginalization:

• Sometimes, whole societies can be marginalized at national and global levels, while classes and communities can be marginalized from the dominant social order within the local level. In some other contexts, the same community can be marginalized in certain country (Jews in Germany or Russia) whereas they are not marginalized in another country (Jews in the U.S.A.).
• Marginalization also increases or decreases at certain stages of life cycle. For example, the marginalized status of children and youth may decrease as they get older, the marginalized status of adults may increase as they become older, the marginalized status of single mother may change as their children grow up.
• Individuals or groups might enjoy high social status at some point of time, but as social change takes place, they may lose this status and become marginalized.

Thus, marginalization is a complex as well as shifting phenomenon linked to social status.

Nature of Marginalization

Marginalization is a multidimensional, multicausal, historical phenomenon. There are no general laws to understand and comprehend the complex nature of marginalization. The analytical tools that can be used in most cases include class, in relation to specific social, cultural, economic and political conditions, as well as ideological systems, social awareness, and human action. The nature of marginalization varies in different settings. For example, the marginalization of women in Iraq is not the same as in India, though they broadly share some features. The religious, ideological system, patriarchy, political economy of a country, and the overall social system have an impact on the marginalization of specific groups or an individual.

The nature of marginalization also varies in relation to elderly people living in different countries and cultures. In some societies, the elderly are given more respect compared to other and, hence, are subject to less marginalization. The strong and supportive traditional family system in some cultures often provides better respect and care to elders than the public aided system available in others.

Similarly, the level of awareness among the marginalized groups plays very important role, and the nature of marginalization varies accordingly. Organized communities who are aware of their rights, demand more justice than unorganized communities. This also depends upon the political- economy of the country where they live in. For example, physically challenged people form organizations in the U.S. and Europe more effectively than in other countries, and demand justice easily. This cannot always happen if the political-economic system is not supportive. Usually, democratic institutions are favorable for most of the disadvantaged groups.