Perween Rahman, a Pakistani social activist, architect, and urban planner, was honored in a Google Doodle today on her 65th birthday. Perween Rahman has dedicated her life to improving the lives of those overlooked.
After moving to Karachi from Dhaka (now Bangladesh) with her family in 1971, she was born there on January 22, 1957. Following a bachelor’s degree in architecture, she completed a master’s degree at the Netherlands’ Institute of Housing Studies in Rotterdam.
Perween Rahman Receives an Honorary Google Award Doodle Rahman’s personal relocation experiences motivated her to seek a career campaigning for housing stability. In 1982, she started working as an unpaid intern for the Orangi Pilot Project as a 65th birthday present to herself (OPP).
An informal community outside of Karachi, Pakistan’s Orangi Town, was the focus of this nonprofit group, which worked to improve sanitation, housing, and health services. Many individuals had little legal recourse for building projects and were regularly displaced from their houses.
In addition, she has received various honors and recognition for her work, including the Sitara-e-Shujaat (Order of Bravery award).
Four gunmen opened fire on Perween Rahman’s car outside Pirabad Police Station on March 13, 2013. As a result, her 28-year campaign for Pakistan’s underprivileged access to land and basic amenities ended.
