Google Doodle has honoured Dr Parveen Rehman on her 65th birthday. She was a lady of courage, bravery and a brilliant architect and urban planner. She was born on 22 January 1957 in Dhaka, East Pakistan now Bangladesh. She belonged to a Bihari family, which moved to Karachi in 1971 during the civil war in East Pakistan following a debacle of Dhaka. Parveen Rehman joined the Orangi Pilot Project (OPP) in 1983 as a joint director and after its split, she became the director of OPP in 1988.
Her efforts are countless in research and training, education, youth training, water supply and secure housing. Dr Rehman also worked as a social activist and in 1989 she founded an NGO; Urban Resource Centre. She had a number of publications and works on some critical subjects of concern- including community working, katchi abadis and their smooth functioning, issues in water supply and managed urbanization. Her notable work is with prominent architect Mr Arif Hussain in 2008 named as “Lessons from Karachi”.
She was honoured with Sitara-i-Shujaat conferred by then President of Pakistan Mr Asif Ali Zardari on 23 March 2013. She raised a strong voice against the mafia of the city and her works are commendable for the betterment of the crippled infrastructure of Karachi. She was assassinated on 13 March 2013 in Karachi.
Dr Rehman was considered as a sign of deterrence for mafias- land, water, and for their political bigwigs. Verily, she was a lady of knowledge and her tireless efforts are laudable, which will have been remembered always.
ENGR ASAD JABBAR
HYDERABAD
