This is what Pakistan’s foremost social scientist and development guru, Dr Akhter Hameed Khan, had predicted 25 years ago. “He had said that social change is in the offing, but whether that change would be peaceful or would come by a caesarean operation is something that we are now witnessing,” remarked Tasneem Siddiqui (the retired bureaucrat who set up Khuda Ki Basti for low-income groups) at a memorial meeting for Perween Rehman in Islamabad. Perween had devoted her life to community service and was gunned down by unknown assailants in Karachi earlier this month.

“Some people want this change to happen and others want the status quo to remain so they are trying to stop it… but there is no need to give up hope”, he continued as he spoke about the circumstances that led to Perween’s untimely death at 56 in Orangi. “I believe the majority wants this change and we have to take our work forward.” He called upon other organisations, like the Akhter Hameed Khan Resource Centre (AHKRC) to document Perween’s community work in books and documentaries so that others can learn from it.

Earlier, Fayyaz Baqir of the AHKRC had spoken about how the staff of the Orangi Pilot Project had decided to keep their office open the day after Perween’s murder and had vowed not to be cowed by fear. At a meeting held in their office in Orangi Town, they decided the best way forward was to keep on working and carrying on with her mission (to help the poor and bring about social change). Perween did not just work in Orangi, however — her work was spread further and wider. She was a teacher and friend to NGO activists like Gulbaz Afaqi, who set up an NGO working on water issues in Soan Valley in the Salt Range more than 15 years ago. He recalled her “professional dedication” and described her as a “beautiful person and a great friend.” Her death had “left an emptiness in his life that could never be filled.”

Sumera Gul from Rawalpindi, who had also been trained by Perween was more passionate: “You can’t kill all of us Perweens! We will take her work forward.” In fact, Perween helped train social activists all over the country including remote areas like DG Khan, Layyah and Bagh. After the earthquake of 2005 and the floods of 2010, she helped design over 16,000 shelters at minimal overhead costs (meaning huge amounts of donor money were not needed) that were then built for the affected communities.

Sadly, just a week after her death, there was a bomb blast at the Jalozai camp near Peshawar and yet another female social worker, Humaira Perween, belonging to a local NGO was killed. “They are killing us one by one,” remarked activist and poet Kishwar Naheed who often visited Perween Rehman in Orangi Town. She recalled how she would take a taxi to Orangi and the taxi driver would always decline at first, saying that Orangi was too dangerous a place to visit. Yet Orangi was where Perween chose to spend most of her life, once she had completed her architecture training from Dawood College of Engineering and Technology in Karachi.

She was recruited by Dr Akhter Hameed Khan to become Joint Director of the Orangi Pilot Project in 1983, and she managed their housing and sanitation programmes. She later took charge of the OPP and guided the people of Orangi to build secure homes, lane sewers and sanitary latrines on a self-help basis. As columnist Harris Khalique pointed out, her work went beyond laying sewerage systems and building housing for low-income groups. Her most important contribution, he felt, was that she “gave dignity and self-respect to the poor.”

According to Fayyaz Baqir of the AHKRC, “We need to take three measures. First, we need to clearly identify who are the enemies of development work. These criminal elements hide their identities and work under the patronage of different outfits. Their interest is to grab land, collect rent and intimidate and remove anyone who comes in their way. The second step is to engage the political parties, state institutions and patrons of terrorists to restrain them. Third, we also need to organise and train communities to take measures to protect themselves and development workers.”

Dr Akhter Hameed Khan often described the committed social activists who worked with him as his “diamonds” that he had searched for amongst all the stones. Perween was certainly the brightest of them all but she was not the only one to be transformed by his teachings. His “diamonds” are today spread from Gilgit-Baltistan to the Makran coast, and they are working hard to implement his teachings in their community work. Change is definitely in the offing in Pakistan and those who oppose it will not be able to turn back the tide. Perween Rahman was fearless until the end and in her death she has inspired thousands of activists like her all over Pakistan.