Work for harmony

Students should work against all sorts of discriminations and work for harmonious coexistence of different communities in the society, urged Rula Ghani yesterday.

The first lady of Afghanistan also advised students to respect everyone's uniqueness.

She was speaking at the fifth commencement of Asian University for Women (AUW) as the commencement speaker at a hotel in the port city.

“Learning is a lifelong process and it should not be stopped,” she told the graduates.

Eighty-five graduates from 15 countries were conferred degrees during the programme.

Besides, honorary doctorate degrees were conferred upon Rula Ghani; Anson Chan, former chief secretary of Hong Kong; Leigh Morgan, chief operating officer of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; and Prof Danielle Allen, director of Edmond J Safra Center for Ethics, Harvard University.

AUW Chancellor Cherie Blair said when the university started its journey nine years back, it had only 131 students from six countries and they were housed in one building.

”Today we have five times as many students from 15 countries,” she said. “That corner of MM Ali Road where we first started has become just the entry point of AUW Lane where our campus spans over nine buildings.”

“With today's graduation, the ranks of AUW alumnae…swelled to almost 550,” she said.

“As you graduate and begin your lives in the real world…I would urge you to never give up on your courage, on your outrage at injustice and your sense of empathy.”

“AUW today is proud to host possibly the largest single cohort of Rohingya women at any university in the world, and the young women who were working in the garments factories now can imagine and achieve a world that even a short while ago seemed entirely beyond their grasp,” she said.

Dr Dipu Moni, chair of AUW board of trustee and former foreign minister; Kamal Ahmad, president and CEO of AUW Support Foundation, and Prof Nirmala Rao, AUW vice-chancellor, also spoke.