The Beginning of Change

It is easy to speak about change, but difficult to pay its price. Every person wants to see improvement in their home, society and system, yet people are often unwilling to abandon the wrongs connected with their own conduct and personal interests. This is why the desire for change remains present, but the journey towards it never begins.

The first condition for reform is to recognise a wrong by its true name. When oppression is described as tradition, lying as expediency, bribery as necessity, harshness as discipline and the denial of rights as a family requirement, the truth becomes hidden behind layers of justification. A disease that is not even acknowledged cannot be treated.

We usually search for the problem in others. Parents blame their children, children blame their parents, the public blames the rulers and the rulers blame the public. Fingers are pointed in every direction, but the mirror is rarely consulted. Change remains nothing more than a slogan until a person develops the courage to see and accept their own share of the wrongdoing.

Speaking the truth is also the foundation of reform, yet in many environments truth is regarded as a threat. If a family’s mistake is mentioned, it is called a disgrace to the family. If a weakness within an institution is pointed out, it is treated as the creation of a problem. In this way, silence becomes respectability and speaking the truth becomes bad manners. Hiding a wrong, however, does not protect honour; it merely extends the life of that wrong.

Change is also prevented because people develop a deep attachment to habit. A behaviour that has continued for years begins to feel familiar, even when it is wrong. The phrase “This is how it has always been done” may appear harmless, but it keeps generations-old injustices alive. A mistake does not become right simply because it is old.

Many people want a better society, but they are not prepared to limit their own advantages in order to achieve it. They speak about ending corruption, yet want their own work done through personal influence. They demand equality before the law, but search for special treatment for themselves. They speak of respecting women, but do not accept a woman’s voice within their own home. Such desires do not bring change. Change always demands some form of personal cost.

That cost includes admitting one’s own mistake, giving up an illegitimate advantage, standing up for the rights of the weak and acting justly even when injustice could bring personal benefit. This is the point at which claims and conduct part ways.

Fear is also a major obstacle in the path of change. People fear the breakdown of relationships, the loss of employment, public disgrace or the hostility of those in power. These fears are not always without foundation, because those who speak the truth are sometimes genuinely abandoned and left alone. Reform, therefore, cannot be achieved merely by advising people to be courageous. Those who speak the truth also require legal, moral and collective support.

Where oppression carries no consequences, the oppressor becomes fearless. When the liar appears successful, the bribe-taker prosperous and the person who deprives others of their rights respectable, the younger generation receives the wrong message. It learns that cleverness is more beneficial than character and that power is more rewarding than justice. For change to take place, goodness must not only be preached; it must also receive practical protection.

Changing only the government or the system is not enough. Laws, institutions and rulers undoubtedly carry great responsibility, but systems are ultimately operated by human beings. If injustice remains in the home, humiliation in the workplace, deception in business and selfishness in relationships, then even the light of great political slogans will fail to reach everyday life. Genuine change requires the reform of both the individual and the system.

Reform does not always begin with great revolutions. Its first brick is laid through courtesy of speech in the home, honesty with children, a woman’s right to express herself, respect for the elderly, the full payment of a worker’s wages and the courage to speak for the weak. These actions may appear small, but social character is built through them.

To say that the change of one person can achieve nothing is another form of hopelessness. One person cannot change the entire world, but can change the atmosphere of one home. One home can change the upbringing of one child, and better upbringing can alter the path of the next generation. Every great change appears limited and lonely at the beginning.

The purpose of change should not be revenge, but the prevention of repetition. A person who has experienced fear should provide safety to their children. A person who has endured humiliation should protect the dignity of others wherever they possess authority. Turning a wound into revenge creates a new cycle of wrongdoing, whereas transforming it into awareness becomes the beginning of reform.

Society did not deteriorate in a single day, nor can it be repaired in a single day. Yet some generation must decide that old mistakes will not be passed forward in new forms.

Change is not an extraordinary power descending from the sky. It is born within the human conscience, takes shape in the home, is tested in relationships and is strengthened through laws and institutions. The true door opens on the day a person develops the courage to call truth the truth and wrong the wrong, even when doing so goes against their own interests.

Shahid Shakil

2026-07-26