“Social stratification is the system by whichsociety ranks the category of people in hierarchy, based on the factors such asrace, education, wealth, power and income.”Social stratification is universal that exist inevery society worldwide. Social stratification is the trait of society.

It carriesover from generation to generation. It involves not just inequality but belief also.In Pakistan society:AsI have stated that social stratification is universal so it also exists in ourown society in many forms. Our own society stratified different category ofpeople on basis of some economic resources, caste system, power and control.Economic resources: Our societyranks those people with high level of income, top in the hierarchy. High levelincome groups perceived as efficient and have more resources. Like societyranks the professionals, business people, industrialist at the top and termedthem as relate to upper class. Likewise the people with low income, lowresources, unskilled personalities like laborers, can be placed at bottom bythe society.

And society categorizes such groups in terms of lower class. Sothe social stratification exists in this way.Power and control:Our society rule is to give respectto those who have more power and more resources in life. Our society gives morepower and control to those with high skills, highly educated, have morefinancial resources and outspoken in publics. And gives very low or no power tolower class people, that’s why the lower class people may not get any respect.

Inthis way society shows stratification among members of societies in terms ofpower.Caste system:Caste system is very criticalfactor or element in stratification process. In Pakistan there are many typesof caste systems that differentiate one group of people from another. Pakistansociety has stratified the people into different categories of caste. In oursociety, some castes are considered as high and some are low.

Example of castesthat exist in Pakistan like; Butt, Jutt, Sayyad, Arain, Mughal, Rajpoot, Malik,Sheikh, and so on.Social class:Our society has separated the society’s member into three categories:1.      Highclass,2.      Middleclass 3.       Lower classHigh class people havemore prestige, power, opportunities to success; include politicians, businesspeople, etc. Middle class include people who are well educated, well skilledand mostly the professionals. Lower class includes people with no skills, uneducated;like laborers.

Education system: Our society ranks the educated people top inhierarchy and illiterate people bottom in hierarchy and considered themeducated people as high status and illiterate people as low status.Socialstratification passes on from generation to generation as our Grandparents andparents have faced such type of stratification. My parents have told me thatthey faced the same type of social stratification when they were young. In pastthere was the same caste system and class system that still exists today.

Butthere intensity was low. In past, there was less concept of caste system buttoday’s society has developed various types of caste that each member ofsociety has in life. Earlier societies exercised more gender stratification bygiving male more power and prestige as compared to women. In past women had nomore opportunities to be successful while male had all the opportunities .

Societyhad centered the life of women at home.Social mobility: Gender is one of theimportant factors of social mobility. Now today society has given female theopportunity to be successful and independent rather than centered her life inhomes. Today our society provides more education and job opportunity to femalealso. In this way social mobility occurs in society. Despite this change,however the opportunities that females receive for social mobility are stillnot equal to those of male.

Education system is also a factor of socialmobility in which society provides every individual with equal opportunity tobecome successful in life. For example themiddle class or low class people can become professional and attain high statusin life.