AUW 12th Commencement Graduates 235 Women from 11 Countries

• The 12th AUW-commemorated graduation ceremony saw the presence of 235 women from 11 countries.
• Seven global leaders received honorary doctorates for theirefforts in the fields of education, welfare, and peace.

Asian University for Women (AUW) conducted its 12th commencement ceremony. Besides graduating 235 females from 11 countries, the university conferred honorary degrees of doctorates on seven distinguished persons.

The event in conjunction with the mission of AUW to provide quality education to women from diverse backgrounds in Asia and beyond was organized at a hotel in the city of Chattogram.

AUW honors seven distinguished individuals with honorary doctorates for their extraordinary dedication to human welfare, education, and peace: Dr Irene Tracey, the vice-chancellor of the University of Oxford (Doctor of Sciences); Mrs Akie Abe, the Japanese first lady (Doctor of Humane Letters); The Baroness Janet Royall, former principal of Somerville College, Oxford (Doctor of Arts); Prof. M Osman Farruk, former education minister of Bangladesh (Doctor of Sciences); Prof. Teruo Fujii, the president of the University of Tokyo (Doctor of Sciences); Mr. Naoki Ito, the former Japanese ambassador to Bangladesh (Doctor of Arts); and Mr. Matiur Rahman, editor and publisher of Prothom Alo (Doctor of Creative, Responsible, and Courageous Journalism).

Among the graduates, Bangladeshese accounted for 152 and Afghans for 51. There were also students from India, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Timor-Leste, Vietnam and Yemen in the class.

During the ceremony, AUW Chancellor Cherie Blair encouraged the graduates to continue the spirit of leadership in the time of fast technological evolution. "Because of your education here, your abilities and characteristics go much further than the technical ones," she told them, pointing out that innovation should be a tool for social justice and human rights.

AUW Vice-Chancellor Dr Rubana Huq acknowledged the university's distinct openness, identifying among the graduates Afghan women, Rohingya refugees, and ex-garment workers. “We are more than a university”, she said, challenging the batch to follow the path of ethical leadership that is grounded in compassion.