Families and sociological development policy

Folake and her three children literarily live a life full of frustrations. They have been victims of acute poverty ever since they migrated to Lagos in the 1980s. The small shack they reside in at Shomolu has had its roof blown off on one side by the heavy August rain of last year, hence they had to pack themselves and their little belongings to one side of the room.

This family is just one in thousands suffering in different parts of the country. They have been left to wallow in acute poverty due to poor economy and lack of social policy for families.

Often, explains Kunle Beyioku, a teacher, nations are seen at times as groups linked by a shared history or culture; as a collective group of people in a specific geographical location, with a common identity, or as political communities. Historically, social welfare became important shortly after the rise of nation states, and in some views the ideas are closely associated.

“National identity is as often used, however, to exclude people from welfare as to promote inclusion, and the influence of nationalism on welfare has tended to be negative. Critics have criticised the idea of the welfare state because it seemed to limit the scope of welfare to a particular locality. Universalists have promoted an inclusive concept of welfare; in principle, this concept is inclusive, but in practice it tends to be confined to citizens, or members of the political community,” he says.

According to him, if government is trying to improve people’s welfare, it is helpful to try to understand something about the way those people are, and how welfare policies relate to their situation. Some sociologists have gone further, arguing that because welfare takes place in a social context, it can only be understood in that context. This has been particularly important for ‘critical social policy,’ which begins from a view of social policy as underpinned by social inequality – particularly the inequalities of class, race and gender.

Olaniyi Akintan, a sociologist, observes that government must have a good understanding of the social structure before it can effectively come up with a good social policy. “Societies are structured,” he explains, “in the sense that people’s relationships follow consistent patterns. Researchers have argued that social policy is dominated in practice by the dominant values of society – the issues of family, work and nation.”

He further states that government must also understand the importance of the family to the development of any nation. “A range of policies should be built around the idea of the family as a man, woman and children. Examples of such policies could be child benefits, education and child care. Some countries have policies built on the idea of the man as ‘breadwinner,’ with support based on the idea that the marriage is permanent and the woman will not work. Families which deviate from the norm, for example, poor single mothers, are likely to be penalised, though there may also be anomalies in the organisation of benefits when promiscuity is accepted and stable cohabitation is not,” he explains.

In addition, Akintan explains that work is another aspect that government must look into in other to be able to institute good social policies. To him, many systems of social protection depend on a stable work record for basic cover in unemployment, ill health and old age. Workers who misbehave, for example, by striking or being dismissed, may be penalised.

Chinyere Obiajulu, a family expert, says family policy is very important in the development of any nation. To him, such policy should be instituted based on different kinds of families that are in a nation, as “ there should be different classifications. For instance, the normal family. Normal here does not mean average; it means conforming to social norms. The ‘normal’ family consists of two parents with one or more children, but it is increasingly untypical in developing countries like Nigeria.”

He explains that several factors have contributed to this trend; such as ageing populations, which mean that increasing numbers of households consist of elderly people without children; the delay in undertaking childbirth, which means that more households consist of single women or couples without children; the growth of single parenthood; and household fission, the tendency for households to split, because of divorce and earlier independence for children.”

He also explains that social policies sometimes seek to reinforce the normal family, by rewarding normal conduct or penalising deviant circumstances. “Rewards include subsidies for married dependants and children; penalties include requirements to support one’s family, and legal and financial deterrents to divorce. At the same time, the assumption that couples live more cheaply than single people may lead to two single people getting greater support: cohabitation rules, treating people living together as if they were married, are used to ensure equity with married couples,” he adds.

He also observes that single parents should not be left out in social policy as the rise in single parenthood is mainly based on three factors such as divorce, which has been increasing as women have gained independence in finance and career; unemployment. Unemployment is correlated with divorce, partly because it strains the marriage, and partly, perhaps, because it has undermined the role of the traditional male breadwinner.

“The position of single parents who receive social benefits could be controversial. This is the case in advanced countries. The individualist position is that if people choose to have children it’s then up to them to look after their family. The collectivist position, and to a large extent the dominant position in continental Europe, is that children are other people’s business as well. There is also a strong body of opinion which considers that the interests of the children override any moral concerns about the status of the parents,” he explains.

Furthermore, some experts also say that teenage pregnancy should not be left out in welfare policies, as teenage pregnancy is the norm these days and it has become more common among secondary school girls and university undergraduates.