Mumbai remembers Sabeen Mahmud

Sabeen Mahmud

In an attempt to introduce Mumbaikars to the life and work of Sabeen Mahmud, Asia Society, in partnership with Sitara Studio, has organised a tribute to the Karachi-based peace activist who was shot dead in her hometown on April 24.


Sabeen Mahmud

Titled Celebrating Dosti and Democracy: Sabeen Mahmud, the event will celebrate freedom of expression with a tribute by documentary filmmaker Anand Patwardhan, poet and actor Danish Husain, journalist and documentary filmmaker Munizae Jahangir, theatre group Patchworks Ensemble and stand-up comic Varun Grover.

The founder and director of PeaceNiche and a member of the Asia 21 India-Pakistan Young Leaders network, Mahmud established a not-for-profit organisation called The Second Floor (T2F) in Karachi, an independent and safe space for discourse and performances by artistes and marginalised voices.

"The venue also hosted music, theatre and stand-up comedy performances, besides talks on arts, science and human rights. The curation of speakers for the evening is inspired by T2F," says Shubhangi Swarup, head of programming, Sitara Studio.


Pakistani activists protest against Sabeen Mahmud's killing. Pic/AFP

Apart from a stand-up act, panel discussion and poetry reading, the event will also showcase a short interview with Mahmud, which was filmed last year. Bunty Chand, executive director of the Asia Society India Centre, informs, "In April 2014, Sanjeev Sherchan, associate director of Global Leadership Initiatives at Asia Society had interviewed Sabeen about her involvement in promoting peace and discourse in Pakistan. She spoke about her vision for T2F, and the conditions prevailing in Pakistan."

Husain, who met Mahmud on a few occasions in Karachi, sums up, "We should be inspired by her work and push for more platforms (like T2F) in our country too, where the underprivileged, minority and marginalised, can share issues concerning them and reach out to more and more people."