Sabeen Mahmud Archive

Today, Sabeen is celebrated as a human rights activist, a fearless campaigner for the rights of minorities and a vocal critic of systems of power. When this is the only lens that generations of Pakistanis will view her through, what is being left out? For anyone who wants to research and know more about Sabeen, her work, passions, interests, her own brand of masti—the joie de vivre that permeated everything she did—the Archive will help us remember her as more than “the activist”. 

We hope that this space and Sabeen’s personal effects will act as a catalyst to begin a discussion about alternative child-raising practices and to encourage parents not to give in to the tyranny of grades or societal expectations when it comes to their children. Not to give in to the cruelty of “loug kya kahein gey.” Not to create a gaping chasm between themselves and their children for fear of what others might say. We hope to create a safe space for parents and caregivers to engage in interactive sessions to come to terms with their anxieties about raising their children in this highly competitive, complex world they find themselves in.

The Archive was launched online on Facebook in April 2020 to mark Sabeen’s 5th death anniversary, while we waited for registration of the proposed Foundation. This digital Archive serves as a memorial. Soon the Archive will shift to our website and will be a space to preserve a record of Sabeen’s life, and will include everything from her notebooks, to her photographs, to the articles she wrote, to her beloved cricket bats and stories from those who knew and loved Sabeen.

Lovingly written by: Sanam Maher |  Journalist / Author

Sabeen Mahmud Archive on Facebook | Sabeen Mahmud Archive on YouTube