Social Exclusion

Social Inclusion is central to ending extreme poverty and fostering shared prosperity. It is both an outcome and a process of improving the terms on which people take part in society. To say poverty alone is a comprehensive marker of deprivation would be wrong. Race, ethnicity, gender, religion, place of residence, disability status, age, HIVAIDS status, sexual orientation or other stigmatized markers, confer disadvantage that excludes people from a range of processes and opportunities. And these factors serve the basis for categorizing marginalized people on the grounds of their race, ethnicity, gender, religion, etc.

The aim of social inclusion is to empower the poor and marginalized people so that they are able to take advantage of burgeoning

Out of the seventeen proposed SDGs eleven have a strong inclusion component focused on ending poverty, ending hunger, improving health, enhancing education, attaining gender equality, ensuring access to water, sanitation, energy and employment within inclusive settlements and societies, and reducing inequalities within and between states. This makes the SDGs prima facie strong on inclusiveness.

If we look at the concept of Exclusion,

The processes of exclusion can have various dimensions. They are as follows:

• Political exclusion includes the denial of citizenship rights such as political participation and the right to organize, of personal security, the rule of law, freedom of expression and equality of opportunity.

• Economic exclusion includes lack of access to labor markets, credit and other forms of ‘capital assets’.

• Social exclusion may take form of discrimination along a number of dimensions including gender, ethnicity, age, etc which results in the reduction of opportunity for such groups in order to gain access to social services and limits their participation in the labor market.

• Cultural exclusion refers to the extent to which diverse values, norms and ways of living are not accepted and

People may be excluded because of deliberate action on the part of others (e.g. discrimination by employers) as a result of processes in society which do not involve deliberate action or even by choice. However, more generally, the causes of social exclusion that lead to poverty, suffering and sometimes death can be attributed to the operations of unequal power relations.

In order to enhance access and opportunities for poorest and marginalized:

SDGs 1 and 2 address the ambitious goals of ending poverty and hunger in a holistic manner with special attention to the role of social protection, nutrition, sustainable agriculture, resilience, sustainable management of natural resources and rural development.

Economic growth is necessary, but not sufficient to accelerate the reduction of poverty and hunger, it also requires strong political commitment, a purposeful and coherent approach to policy making across sectors and stakeholders, dedicated resources and