“Don’t judge a book by its cover”

Why you are going to Bangladesh? Don’t you have good universities here, in your own country? What is there in Bangladesh? Don’t you know the issues between Pakistan and Bangladesh? These were some of the questions asked by many people when I got selected for Asian University for Women, Chittagong, Bangladesh. I was so concerned about my decision when, I heard all these but after coming here I get to know that my decision was one of the best decisions I have ever made in my life. This is a life changing step for me, being a Pakistani living in a country which has many issues with my homeland. As said by someone “Don’t judge a book by its cover”, same was the case with me. Before coming here, I heard a lot about issues between Pakistan and Bangladesh and people told me that Bangladeshi’s even don’t like Pakistanis but it was not the reality. After spending almost one year and a half, I realize that most of the issues arise due to misunderstanding. People in Bangladesh are loving, caring and friendly. There are issues going on between these two countries, but it never has an impact on relations between students inside AUW campus. I saw a totally different side of the picture after coming to AUW. 

The best part about AUW community is, everyone respects each others cultural, religious and social values. This is the beauty of diversity which gives us the opportunity to interact with people from different countries, religion and culture. AUW is a place which has changed my whole life and gave me the courage of living with different people under one umbrella, representing my own culture and identity. AUW is a platform to unite different individuals from different parts of Asia and give them opportunities to understand each others differences and respect them. Now I am confident that I had made best decision of my life and will continue to represent my country and culture here in the best way I can.

Author: Sanam Gul