CHITTAGONG, BANGLADESH – Media OutReach Newswire – 6 February 2024 – Asian University for Women in Chittagong, Bangladesh has offered 250 scholarships for highly qualified female students from war-torn Gaza to join its undergraduate or graduate programs. The AUW scholarships will cover all costs of international travel, room, board, tuition, health care and a monthly stipend. It may be sadly noted that at least one AUW graduate who had returned to her home in Gaza remains untraceable to date.
His Excellency Ambassador Riad Mansour of Palestine handing over a gift of a precious book on Palestine to AUW Founder Mr. Kamal Ahmad.
The 250 students have already been chosen based on their past academic performance and other records of accomplishments. AUW’s Founder & CEO Mr. Kamal Ahmad conveyed this commitment when he called on His Excellency Dr. Riad Mansour, Ambassador of the State of Palestine to the United Nations at the latter’s offices in New York on February 1st. Ambassador Mansour, who himself was an educator earlier in his career, deeply appreciated the gesture from AUW and assured AUW of his support in enabling a rapid transfer of the students from Gaza to AUW’s campus in Chittagong.
It may be noted that AUW was established by the Parliament of Bangladesh in 2008 to specifically support the education of women from conflict areas, among others. Nearly 550 Afghan students currently attend AUW; there are at least another 300 students attending AUW from other conflict areas including Myanmar, Syria and Yemen. In a recent convocation address Professor Richard Saller, President of Stanford University, referred to his own personal experience teaching a group of students from AUW at Stanford one summer “as the most rewarding teaching experience of my career” and went on to say “These students came from modest families in various countries across South Asia. One of the principal goals of AUW was to instill confidence and a powerful sense of agency in these students, who came from societies that limited opportunities for women — sometimes severely”.
The Hon’ble Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina serves as the Chief Patron of AUW while the Hon’ble Minister of Social Welfare Dr. Dipu Moni serves as the Chairman of the Board. The eminent educator and entrepreneur Dr. Rubana Huq serves as the Vice Chancellor.
A one million square feet custom-designed campus is being developed on a 140-acre plot in Chittagong guided by the renowned architects Moshe Safdie and Renzo Piano. When fully built, AUW will be able to serve 11,000 talented students from across the region irrespective of their economic, social, religious or national or ethnic background. In addition, an AUW Lab School led by the Founding Principal Dr. Dale Taylor will be launched in August this year that will cater to younger students with most potential for academic and leadership success.
About Asian University for Women (AUW):
Founded in 2008 and located in Chittagong, Bangladesh, AUW is the first of its kind: a regional institution dedicated to women’s education and leadership development through liberal arts and sciences education. It is international in outlook but rooted in the contexts and aspirations of the people of Asia. Chartered by the Parliament of Bangladesh, AUW exists solely to support a rising network of women leaders, entrepreneurs, and changemakers from across the region. It seeks out women who show significant academic achievement and potential, demonstrate courage and a sense of outrage at injustice, and are empathic to the woes of other people.
1,600 students from 15 countries currently attend AUW: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Syria, Timor Leste, Vietnam, and Yemen. More than 85% of AUW students are on full or near-full scholarships funded by supporters from around the world. The University has graduated over a thousand students to date. A majority of AUW graduates secure employment in the private and public sectors in their home countries while about 25% go on to pursue graduate studies at other institutions of higher learning including Oxford, Cambridge, Johns Hopkins, Stanford, Columbia, Duke, Brandeis and Tufts, among others. To learn more about Asian University for Women, please visit https://asian-university.org.