What is it that makes one want to kill another?
How does one pick up a gun to shoot another for just money, blind loyalty to someone or even religion?
How does one do it?
Do they think of their targets as real people who have lives? A family perhaps. Maybe even kids? Or do they see them as simply projectiles or the glass bottles they practiced their aim on?
What is it that makes one pull the trigger and spill the blood of another without any remorse?
Many argue that man is the perfect creation of God, and nothing should harm the body of a human. Suicide is a sin, even tattoos are considered as harming and disfiguring the perfect body that God has created. Then how does a person like Mumtaz Qadri, who pumped over 30 bullets in someone in the name of religion, gets the status of a hero and sits in jail preaching to others about it? Why does he have no remorse for taking the life of another, and that too in such a savage manner?
How could anyone, and I really don’t care even if they were given a written statement by God himself that this will send them straight to heaven – How could anyone kill an innocent child in cold blood – or rather 132 in one go?
Sabeen Mahmud, a progressive activist and organizer was murdered by being shot five times by unidentified people, her mother who had been with her at the time was also injured in the attack.
She ran Pakistan's first-ever hackathon, was founder of NGO Peace Niche and also led a human rights and peace-focused nonprofit known as The Second Floor (T2F). It hosted numerous events like poetry readings, screening of movies, and debates on issues that one might not be able to have out in the open. Here was a space where artists, musicians, thinkers, writers, scientists, philosophers and pretty much anyone who had something to say or question, could come to – and be comfortable and safe. Here was also a space where Sabeen aimed to challenge people to create future leaders.
I never knew her personally but had been lucky enough to meet her a few times and each time I was struck by her fearless yet relaxed and encouraging nature and her sparkling eyes. Nothing seemed to phase her and she truly just wanted to do good in this world for others. I never saw her without a smile on her face.
The last time I met her, I had just started writing my book and casually mentioned it to her. I remember I asked her, that people in Pakistan don’t appreciate female authors all that much, would they accept one who had written a fantasy fiction book of all the genres? A self-confessed geek, she appreciated the genre and I remember her words of encouragement to not write for the people or worry about acceptance but just for myself. With my book set to hopefully release in the next few months in Pakistan, I can’t help but remember her kind words of encouragement. I would have liked her to read it.
Did the people who pulled the trigger to take her last breath, not think of who she was? Who she could have been? How she might have impacted different people’s lives? That perhaps the person they were murdering was one of the good ones? One who made a difference?
She was certainly no stranger to threats. Some years ago, she had been facing a period where there had been a lot of aggression and threats. Instead of cowering back in fear, she invited the person over for tea and asked for a conversation. That person eventually became her friend and a regular at T2F. That was the sort of person she was. A newspaper states that she recently received a package in the mail, which had a bullet in it. I am pretty sure had she been given the chance to talk to the sender, he would have left as a friend too.
She was laid to rest as a hero. Women were everywhere; in the hearse bus, at the graveyard, at the funeral prayer. Her grave was covered with white lilies.
Her mother, still injured consoled those who needed it.
Everyone thought of her as their own; this was what that made Sabeen so special. She was loved by all and she mentored and encouraged people to do what they wanted to do, without thinking about traditions and things that might hold them back. She helped people be themselves.
A leader to the end, more than once she quoted Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s words – Tyrants cannot snuff out the moon, so today, nor tomorrow, no tyranny will succeed.
Her body may be gone, but her memory, her legacy, her work will always live. People should continue to fight injustice by raising their voices or writing with their pens. People must strive to be better. People must help others be better. People should never ever be quiet.
“The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people.” - Martin Luther King, Jr.