Sabeen Mahmud

Sabeen Mahmud (20 June 1974 – 24 April 2015) (Urdu: صبین محمود) was a progressive Pakistani human rights activist and social worker who founded the Karachi-based cafe The Second Floor. She also presided over the Karachi branch of TiE.

Born and raised in Karachi, Mahmud was educated at Karachi Grammar and later at the Kinnaird College. She later founded an interactive media and technology consulting firm and worked to establish the Citizens Archive of Pakistan. She set up The Second Floor (T2F) in 2007 aimed at providing a community space for open dialogue. Under Mahmud's leadership, T2F arranged a series of liberal social activities. She also co-led protests against the Red Mosque in Islamabad, and also took part in Pakistan for All, a campaign to end sectarianism and religious intolerance in Pakistan.

On 24 April 2015, Mahmud hosted a debate on the Balochistan conflict featuring activists such as Mama Qadeer. Later that day, she was shot and killed by a gunman while returning home from the seminar at T2F. By 20 May 2015, Pakistani authorities had arrested the individual responsible for her murder. Mahmud is widely regarded as a prominent figure within 'Pakistan's liberal, urban, and globalised civil society'.