Educating women key to a kinder world

Educating daughters will create a kinder world, said Oxford University Vice-Chancellor Irene Tracey yesterday, speaking at the 12th commencement ceremony of the Asian University for Women (AUW).

She said the female graduates carry forward the skill of soft diplomacy -- the ability to appreciate differences and understand those not like them. 

Human history has become more and more a race between education and catastrophe, she warned.

The programme, held at a hotel in Chattogram city, conferred honorary doctorate degrees on seven distinguished individuals and awarded degrees to 235 women from 11 countries.

“Among today’s graduates, 51 have come from Afghanistan, a country where there is currently virtually no progress in women’s education. We hope that one day they will return to their country and lead their nation. Nine students have come from the Rohingya camps, also a place where a brutal line is drawn between need and deprivation. Seven garment factory workers are receiving degrees today; these students once thought their lives would remain limited only to sewing machines,” said AUW Vice-Chancellor Rubana Huq.

AUW conferred honorary doctorates on seven notable figures for their contributions to humanity, education, and peace. 

Oxford University Vice-Chancellor Irene Tracey was awarded a Doctor of Science and the Advancement of Humankind; University of Tokyo President Teruo Fujii received a Doctor of Science; Japan’s former First Lady Akie Abe was conferred a Doctor of Humane Letters; UK House of Lords member Janet Annie Royall received a Doctor of Arts for Leadership and Educational Equity; Bangladesh’s former Education Minister M Osman Faruk was awarded a Doctor of Science in Educational Development; Japan’s former Ambassador to Dhaka Ito Naoki received a Doctor of Arts for the Advancement of Peace; and Prothom Alo Editor and Publisher Matiur Rahman was conferred a Doctor of Creative, Responsible and Courageous Journalism.

Receiving his honorary degree, Matiur Rahman spoke on the indispensability of independent journalism, expressing concern over recent attacks on major media houses like Prothom Alo and The Daily Star, but remained hopeful. “When times are difficult, independent journalism must be indispensable. Without freedom of thought, democracy cannot survive. I do not lose hope because young people have not abandoned their hope for a humane and just society,” he said.

He added, “I am not accepting this honour only for myself; I am accepting it on behalf of the journalists of Bangladesh who work every day in search of truth, often at personal risk.”

Former education minister Dr M Osman Faruk called the passage of the AUW Act, which established it as an independent university free from government intervention, one of his best achievements while in cabinet.

Of the 235 graduates, 152 were from Bangladesh. The class also included students from Afghanistan, India, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Timor-Leste, Vietnam, and Yemen.

AUW Founder Kamal Ahmad reflected on the university’s growth over 18 years, expanding from 127 students to over 2,000 from 22 countries, and emphasised AUW’s commitment to educating and professionally placing displaced and refugee women. 

“Refugee camps are not temporary stations in life. We have students who were born in refugee camps and who go back to visit their parents,” he said.

Presiding over the ceremony, AUW Chancellor Cherie Blair reminded graduates that poverty, disease, inequality, and violence will continue to exist in the world, but AUW graduates respond where crises happen.