Tuesday, June 12, 6:30-10pm
Presented by The Moozis
Free/Donation
Join Moozis for a screening and discussion of Perween Rahman: The Rebel Optimist, with the documentary filmmaker Mahera Omar.
“No one is safe in this city. Those who think otherwise are living in a fool’s paradise,” says Perween’s best friend and colleague Anwar Rashid as he navigates the chaotic roads of Karachi. An architect and urban planner, Perween Rahman dedicated her life for the poor of Pakistan until she was shot dead by armed assailants on her way home in March 2013.
In the early 80s, the people of Orangi — most of them migrants from India and Bangladesh — were making their own efforts to improve sanitation. When Perween joined the Karachi based Orangi Pilot Project, founded by Dr. Akhtar Hameed Khan, Orangi’s lanes were full of filth and choking gutters. Dr. Khan assigned Perween the task of developing a low cost sanitation model for Orangi.
She surveyed the water supply to Karachi and pinpointed locations from where water is being stolen from the bulk supply lines. She mapped and documented Karachi’s informal settlements to provide the poor security against land grabbers. But Perween’s pioneering work in Orangi led her on a collision course with the various mafias in the city.
Perween had an alternate vision for the development of Karachi. “Development doesn’t come from concrete. Development is not five star hotels and mega road projects. What we need is human development.”
https://www.facebook.com/PerweenRahmanFilm/
Mahera Omar explores social, urban and environmental issues in Pakistan through her documentary filmmaking; such as the development of Karachi, education projects in Hunza and Shigar, and adventure travel filming. Her documentary “Sea Turtles” produced for Geo Television won the 22nd Genesis Award in the Brigitte Bardot International Category. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Biology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and veterinarians are the super heroes in her book.
The Moozis are a collective of non-traditional spiritual and/or cultural Muslim folks interested in learning through internal exchange with our kindred without judgement while creating playful, subcultural programs to connect, learn and make ourselves count in the definition and understandings of our culture.
Accessibility information for this event:
WCCW has a 36” wide ramp at our front entrance and a stairway with 8 steps and a rail. There are 2 gender neutral restrooms. One restroom is wheelchair accessible, with a handrail. We provide scent free soaps and encourage guests to attend our events scent free. If you require ASL interpretation, CART, interpretation for a language other than English, supervised childcare, or have any other access needs or questions, please contact [email protected] at least two weeks in advance. It is our practice to do everything we can to create a safe and accessible space.