We all know who Sabeen Mahmud is, if you don’t, please get out of under that rock! After her brutal assassination by motocylce-riding na maaloom afraad, she has become a symbol of human rights actvism and resilience in the face of oppression.
Sabeen had set up a place to share her interests with like-minded people, known as ‘The Second Floor'(T2F). Now, her friends and acquaintances are carrying on her legacy by running T2F just the way Ms. Mahmud would’ve wanted – as a place for open discussion, acceptance, tolerance and enlightenment.
Source: BBC
Sabeen was shot three times as she was driving home with her mother after an event on the embattled province of Balochistan. Her mother survived the firing.
A Human Rights Prize for a Hero
The Dutch government under the auspices of its Ministry for Foreign Affairs has set up a prize for human rights activists all over the world who have fought for people’s rights “in innovative ways”. The award was established in 2008 but since 2013 the focus narrowed down to innovative ways with which human rights activists around the world get their voices heard.
Source: T2F
The prize is worth €100,000 and is intended to further develop or expand the scale of the winner’s work for human rights.
Our Fallen Hero Needs our Support
Sabeen Mahmud’s brainchild T2F and its parent organization Peace Niche are nominated for the Human Rights Tulip 2015. Their innovative means of fighting for Human Rights in Pakistan is by providing an open, inclusive space for people of all ideas to come together and debate like intelligent beings, in order to tackle the “intellectual poverty” that exists in Pakistan.
Photo: Reuters
The voting process for this award ends at 2.59 AM on Thursday, September 15, 2015. This means there aren’t many days left and for all the amazing work T2F is doing in order to create a space for everyone in Pakistan, it demands that we at least vote for it to give back to Sabeen what she dreamed to see in her homeland.
Why Our Hero Deserves It
Sabeen Mahmud may have been catapulted to world fame thanks to the tragic circumstances surrounding the cruel way she was silenced but this admirable lady has always been working to give everyone a platform to be heard.
The idea behind T2F was to give a voice to those who are underrepresented in the country. And this did not just constitute political voice to the marginalized communities in our country; T2F was, and continues to be, home to countless gatherings of artists, intellectuals, students and all those looking to share knowledge, compassion and understanding.
Source: Al Jazeera
Recounting the magnanimous life that Sabeen lived, her friend, at the time of her death, said that “Sabeen defied categorization. Arts patron and N.G.O, worker are so bland. She was a dil phaink”.
The Process
The chances to win the prize are good but your help is what will ensure that the chance becomes a reality. T2F needs to be among the top three most voted contestants if it is to ensure shortlisting into the final stage for jury deliberations for the Human Rights Tulip.
In order to vote, click here and all make your contribution. And hurry, the voting ends on Thursday at 2.59 AM.
“Fear is just a line in your head. You can choose what side of that line you want to be on.”
-Sabeen Mahmud