Innovative University for Underprivileged Asian Women Hosting International Symposium on Women's Rights

Danielle Plesser
SOC202
October 10, 4:53 PM

Covering a wide region and aiming to offer education to women from remote communities: “The inaugural class of the Access Academy began classes in Chittagong in April 2008, with 130 talented young women from Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.” When one completes the year of coursework at the Academy, one is admitted to the Asian University for Women. The undergraduate program will officially begin in August 2009, and at that time students will be able to get admitted directly to the University, without needing to meet the Access Academy requirements. The Access Academy offers courses that are intended to make up for any lacking experience in previous education in areas such as English, mathematics, and computer skills.

The aim of this private university is to offer women’s education that will prepare the women of this region for work and succeed in their societies. It seeks to educate students from different backgrounds of culture and religion and socio-economic status.

I kind of ignored the main point of the article, which is a symposium that’s being hosted at the Asian University for Women. Instead I concentrated more on the idea of the university itself. When I was applying to colleges in high school, I always scorned the idea of a women’s college. Since the world isn’t gender-divided in that manner, wasn’t that just a cushion one used to shelter themselves from the inequality and also just the presence at all of men in the workforce? It seemed unrealistic to me, like hiding in a bubble. I understand now that there are situations where such an environment can help people grow and develop so that they are better prepared for the world, even if the classroom environment does not represent the world they will be facing. And this university certainly takes that positive aspect, concentrating on a population of women who would most likely struggle in a university that was open to everyone. Now granted, I didn’t see anywhere in the article an explanation for how they’re going to get the poorer rural-based women population to attend the school (no mention of tuition or scholarships was made), so I can’t be sure how it works exactly. But I think it’s a neat idea, and I hope it leads to good things for the people in these communities.

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/innovative-university-underprivileged-asian-women/story.aspx?guid=%7B985D02D5-8E65-4CE3-876F-0C379F3A3289%7D&dist=hppr