KUWAIT CITY, Feb 1: Former British prime minister Tony Blair said the Asian University for Women (AUW) is the window of opportunity for women in developing countries who cannot afford tuition fees.
At a dinner party organized by member of the International Consultative Committee Lulwah Al-Mullah, Blair stressed the importance of supporting the youth from these areas and training them to face challenges by providing them with education opportunities. Expressing pleasure at being a part of the dinner party, Blair added that knowledge is the only way to help poor communities in countries such as Afghanistan and Palestine tackle their problems effectively.

Al-Mullah echoed Blair’s sentiments, saying education is a powerful tool that can further progress and development. She added that AUW seeks to provide education of the highest quality to women in order to create a new generation of leaders who can help their communities. She explained that AUW looks to select students from areas who are talented, but are held back due to financial and social factors.
“AUW offers accommodation, food and free education to students with cooperation from leading universities like Stanford in California, Imperial College in London and Aalborg University in Copenhagen”, she said.

“We did not expect that these entities, and countries like the US, Britain, Denmark, Japan and China would participate in establishing a university in Bangladesh”, she added. Al-Mullah went on to say that technology, while making the world a smaller place, has also widened the gap between the developed and developing countries, as the former have been getting richer, and the latter have been lagging behind. Disclosing that many people still live on less than two dollars a day, she quoted a UN report which revealed that countries such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Algeria, Bangladesh, Morocco, Egypt and Iraq still face problems with education.

She concluded by giving the example of Dr Mohammed Younis of Bangladesh, who introduced Grameen Bank to the world and won the Nobel Peace Prize, adding that the same country has now given to the world, Kamal Ahmed. “He is a man who has worked very hard for AUW, and I am proud to be a part of this international humanitarian venture”, she said.

For his part, Kamal Ahmed of AUW said the university promises to provide the best education from its campus located in Chittagong, to students from 13 countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Palestine, Sri Lanka and Vietnam.
Chairperson of the Cherie Blair Charity for Women and wife of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Cherie Blair said education ensures a better future for women. She added that AUW has realized the dream of a number of people who have worked tirelessly to be able to provide these bright, but underprivileged girls with hopes for a brighter tomorrow.

“I want to tell you how education changed my life”, she said. “I was the first girl in her family to receive university education, since my mother and grandmother discontinued their studies at the age of 14. Without the education I received, I would not be who I am today, and would certainly have never met my husband”, she narrated. “I promise these women that education will change their lives for the better. It is unfortunate that the intellect and talent of many women goes unnoticed due to neglect in developing countries”, she added. Students Fareeda Darwich from Afghanistan and Hana Ayoub from Palestine also addressed the guests at the dinner, speaking about their experiences at the university and expressing how education influenced their lives.