Wall Chalking in Pakistan
Causes and Effects of Wall Chalking in Pakistan
April 12, 2011 Abstract
This research aims to shed light on the issue of wall chalking in Pakistan. A survey is carried out to ascertain why wall chalking is so common in Pakistan, why does the public indulge in so much wall chalking, and what can be done to address this issue. Data from the survey and secondary sources (newspaper articles, videos) is used to find out the various aspects of wall chalking done for advertising purposes, and what is the government doing to thwart it. Efforts of nongovernmental organizations inn this regard are also researched upon. It can be gathered that the public in Pakistan basically indulges in wall chalking due to lack of platforms for them to express their emotions, combined with a lack of awareness. Advertisements of every scale are done through wall chalking to avoid larger costs, and the government cannot root out the problem since it itself consists of political parties largely involved in wall chalking for political purposes. There are laws against wall chalking and illegal advertising, but are not promulgated strictly enough, which makes the public act more daredevil and do all the more wall chalking. Most of the people surveyed and interviewed agree that it is a heinous activity that debauches the beauty of the city a great deal, yet we see that the city’s walls are filled with all kinds of wall chalking. Hence, everyone would like to see this source of ugliness vanished but does not know what to do, since the authorities are not willing to take stricter action. Here comes in the role of the non governmental organizations. MWT has started an annual Street Art Competition to engage the youth into scraping off the posters and advertisements from the walls of the city, and painting them with beautiful patriotic themes that reflect the Pakistani culture in the form of street art. This competition has been held twice so far, and as the youth becomes more aware of it, their
April 12, 2011 Abstract
This research aims to shed light on the issue of wall chalking in Pakistan. A survey is carried out to ascertain why wall chalking is so common in Pakistan, why does the public indulge in so much wall chalking, and what can be done to address this issue. Data from the survey and secondary sources (newspaper articles, videos) is used to find out the various aspects of wall chalking done for advertising purposes, and what is the government doing to thwart it. Efforts of nongovernmental organizations inn this regard are also researched upon. It can be gathered that the public in Pakistan basically indulges in wall chalking due to lack of platforms for them to express their emotions, combined with a lack of awareness. Advertisements of every scale are done through wall chalking to avoid larger costs, and the government cannot root out the problem since it itself consists of political parties largely involved in wall chalking for political purposes. There are laws against wall chalking and illegal advertising, but are not promulgated strictly enough, which makes the public act more daredevil and do all the more wall chalking. Most of the people surveyed and interviewed agree that it is a heinous activity that debauches the beauty of the city a great deal, yet we see that the city’s walls are filled with all kinds of wall chalking. Hence, everyone would like to see this source of ugliness vanished but does not know what to do, since the authorities are not willing to take stricter action. Here comes in the role of the non governmental organizations. MWT has started an annual Street Art Competition to engage the youth into scraping off the posters and advertisements from the walls of the city, and painting them with beautiful patriotic themes that reflect the Pakistani culture in the form of street art. This competition has been held twice so far, and as the youth becomes more aware of it, their