Asian University for Women offers 250 scholarships to women from Gaza

CHITTAGONG, BANGLADESH  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.

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 1^st. 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.