Identifying the Social and Economic Contexts of the Emergence of Female Begging Phenomenon (Case Study: Khorramabad City)
Subject Areas : Research on Iranian social issues
abozar ghasemi
1
*
,
vali bahrami
2
1 - Assistant Professor, Department of Social Work, Faculty of Social Sciences, Semnan University, Semnan, Iran.
2 - Assistant Professor, Department of Social Sciences Education, Farhangian University, Tehran, Iran.
Keywords: Begging, generational poverty, poor guardianship, easy income, lack of professional skills.,
Abstract :
Today, due to economic pressures on one hand and the increasing individuality and anonymity in large cities on the other, begging has emerged as a significant urban issue. Accordingly, this study aims to identify the social and economic contexts contributing to the formation and expansion of female begging in Khorramabad city. The research adopts a qualitative approach, with the study population consisting of all female beggars in Khorramabad. Sampling was conducted purposively, and the sample size was determined based on the saturation criterion, resulting in semi-structured interviews with 15 participants. The collected data were thematically coded and analyzed. Consequently, after coding and analyzing the data, 304 open codes, 30 sub-themes, and 7 main themes were extracted. The findings indicate that the social contexts of begging include "conflict of religious value rationality, unproductive interactions, reduced shame and stigma of begging, and lack of or poor guardianship," while the economic contexts encompass "lack of vocational skills, begging as an easy income source, and generational poverty." The results suggest that empowering these women by enhancing their vocational skills and reducing unproductive interactions within familial contexts and chains of generational poverty could redirect them toward productive employment.
Keywords: Begging, generational poverty, poor guardianship, easy income, lack of professional skills.
Extended Abstract
Introduction
Today, begging has become a widespread phenomenon, not confined to a specific country, region, class, or group of individuals. It is observed among the elderly, the sick, the disabled, the blind, the mentally challenged, children, and even able-bodied individuals. In recent decades, this phenomenon has evolved into a challenging issue in our country, not only tarnishing urban landscapes but also yielding diverse social and cultural consequences. From this perspective, the present study seeks to identify the social and economic contexts contributing to the formation and expansion of female begging in Khorramabad city. Historically, the intertwined nature of ethnic-kinship social relations among the people of Lorestan shaped their beliefs and lifeworld around existence, life, work, and livelihood, with the components of this lifeworld harmonizing across different times and places. However, the transition from a traditional to a modern society and the resultant changes caused the traditional community’s economic agency to lose one of its key constitutive and driving institutions—namely, the "family," and, more crucially, the labor force of "women." Indeed, women were once a platform for promoting "work as effort" within the cohesive Lorestan community. With the collapse of women’s indigenous livelihoods, the phenomenon of female destitution and begging has emerged in this province. The disintegration of traditional systems, communal lands, and local communities has constrained cooperative economic actions, diligence, local frugality, and traditional production, replacing them with consumerist, fragmented, profit-driven economic competition and female poverty. Additionally, Lorestan province has ranked first nationally in the misery index over the past three years due to persistent poverty, unemployment, and high inflation rates. Consequently, many individuals, facing income, livelihood, and poverty-related challenges, have migrated from other counties to the province’s capital, Khorramabad. The rise in migration over recent years has led to increased settlement of migrants in the city’s marginalized areas.
These women bear the responsibilities of breadwinning, housework, child-rearing, and caring for children and the elderly. The compounded pressures, loneliness, social exclusion, diminished social support, feelings of insecurity and helplessness, susceptibility to violence, perceived failure in fulfilling maternal roles, and persistent fears and anxieties about their own and their children’s futures expose them to various physical, psychological, and social harms. Female begging also entails further consequences and harms, such as prostitution, forced engagement in illicit activities, unwanted pregnancies, mediation in trafficking networks, addiction, theft, divorce, identity loss, and contagious diseases. The theoretical considerations of this study posit that begging is a goal-oriented action rooted in specific patterns. Initially, beggars become trapped in poverty due to structural pressures stemming from lack of access to legitimate and productive income sources. Subsequently, this action becomes entrenched within a cohesive community due to cultural poverty and a culture of poverty. With reduced shame and social stigma, conditions are facilitated for these women to earn income through begging without fear or negative social values surrounding the phenomenon.
Method
The research adopts a qualitative approach, characterized as descriptive-analytical and applied in terms of its objectives. It is cross-sectional in terms of time. The study population comprises all female beggars in Khorramabad city. Sampling was conducted purposively, with the sample size determined based on data saturation and repetition (15 interviews). The process ceased when data repetition was observed in the interviews, at which point coding commenced. The interviews were semi-structured. Participants were selected in person based on their willingness to participate, ability to speak and converse, over one year of begging experience, and possession of rich information. Data were recorded and documented through note-taking.
Thematic analysis was employed for coding and analyzing the data. This process began with transcribing and line-by-line reading of the data to achieve a coherent understanding of the interview texts. Subsequently, the most significant meaning units (which could be a phrase or a word) were extracted from the text, categorized, and initial open codes were derived. Categories were then extracted and reviewed, and through defining and naming them, the extracted categories were systematically presented in a textual report. During the coding and analysis process, 304 open codes, 30 sub-categories, and 7 main categories were identified. To validate the data, techniques such as review by some participants, expert review for code and theme extraction, and ensuring clarity, credibility, and transferability were utilized. To uphold research ethics, participant confidentiality, prevention of data disclosure, voluntary participation, consideration of participants’ working conditions, and complete data recording (without altering the data’s quality or quantity) were ensured.
Findings
The findings reveal that the social contexts of begging include "conflict of religious value rationality, unproductive interactions, reduced shame and stigma of begging, and lack of or poor guardianship," while the economic contexts consist of "lack of vocational skills, begging as an easy income source, and generational poverty." In Lorestan province, religious and spiritual ties remain strong. Individuals, based on their religious socialization, consistently exhibit a practical inclination toward assistance, support, and altruistic actions. Consequently, beggars exploit these religious sensitivities to earn income. By using religious symbols such as pictures of Imams, green cloths, or swearing by the Imams, they manipulate these religious affiliations, sometimes receiving substantial sums from people. Moreover, beggars lack adequate social capital and socioeconomic networks, limiting their opportunities for income generation and vocational skill acquisition. Their interactions predominantly occur with individuals lacking productive and generative economic agency, placing them in a cycle that offers no escape from their current conditions. Economic circumstances further compel these women to resort to begging, leading them and others to perceive that they should not be met with disdain or rejection. The necessity of earning income has diminished the associated shame. Women engaged in this activity consider themselves entitled, legitimizing it and reducing the stigma of begging to generate income. Additionally, some of these women are either unmarried or have husbands addicted to drugs, creating a compulsion to work and earn. In cases of lack of guardianship, women serve as family breadwinners, needing to meet the household’s economic demands. In poor guardianship scenarios, the husband lacks breadwinning capacity and contributes little to the family economy, forcing women to work. High vocational skills correlate with stable employment and decent income. Although some of these women possess training in skills such as baking or handicrafts, their lack of initial capital prevents them from utilizing these abilities. This situation undermines their adaptability to viable markets for income generation, resulting in failure to secure suitable employment. Begging involves no labor-intensive effort or pressure, and given their lack of skills, these women can earn income easily without capital, production tools, shop rentals, or municipal taxes, aligning with the norm of "easy income." In contrast, governmental or other productive employment entails fatigue, repetition, and burnout, with individuals often perceiving no proportionality between effort and income. However, begging allows women to earn income without significant challenges, merely by overcoming social stigma and shame. They face no financial loss or risk, making begging a "win-only game" for them, where one party earns without investment or creativity, while the other adds to their income through pity and charity. Thus, the profit from this activity is effortless, involving minimal physical strain or anxiety over losing capital.
Conclusion
The discussion highlights that begging in Khorramabad is expanding as negative norms and values surrounding it diminish. Structural pressures from lack of access to sustainable economic resources, combined with the formation of a begging identity as a "job" reinforced by the theme of "easy income," and the conflict between citizens’ religious rationality and their inclination to assist, have institutionalized this phenomenon, indicating a decline in the shame associated with begging. In this context, female beggars create a spatial divide between their living and working environments (more evident among migrants from outside the province), facilitating their pursuit of income. Thus, the current conditions in Khorramabad exacerbate the social and economic contexts of begging. The perpetuation of poverty within families further limits these individuals’ ability to escape their circumstances. Addressing this situation structurally and sustainably requires targeted institutional and social support to empower these women toward legitimate, productive, and normative employment. This would enable them to repair unproductive interactions, enhance their vocational skills, and overcome their status-related frustrations.
Overall, combating the expansion of this phenomenon requires, at the macro level, that the government and policymakers prioritize prevention and responsive, targeted interventions over therapeutic and rehabilitative measures. Secondly, strengthening inter-institutional collaboration (involving the police, municipality, technical and vocational organization, relief committee, welfare organization, and medical sciences) with non-governmental organizations and expanding community-based activities for prevention and responsive interventions is essential. At the meso level, altering family perspectives on female beggars and the consequences of begging for families and children through increased awareness is necessary. Leveraging national media, local media, and social networks could be beneficial in this regard. Additionally, when these women are referred to beggar women’s camps, providing vocational training and supervised facilities by officials and social workers could aid their empowerment. Given that most of these women lack or have poor guardianship, engaging them in quick-return activities and creating home-based jobs could support their sustainable livelihood and dignity. Moreover, considering the prevalence of drug addiction among these women, their husbands, or their children, intervention and treatment measures for addiction cessation are recommended.
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