The women of Bangladesh are struggling to protect their right to education against rising Islamism, Cherie Blair CBE told the audience on Tuesday night at the honorary doctorate ceremony on the Marcus Family Campus of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. Blair was one of six outstanding individuals upon which the University bestowed honorary doctorates.
“This is a big moment for a girl from Liverpool,” she began with a touch of levity. “As the first in my family to go to university, I never thought I would have a collection of honorary doctorates.”
Blair quickly moved on to more serious issues turning to the plight of Bangladeshi women. “Too many women don’t have access to the education we take for granted,” she said. She is the chancellor of a new Bangladeshi women’s university, The Asian University for Women, which will graduate its first class later this month.
Bangladesh has been plunged into riots as an extreme sect of Islamists seeks to segregate men and women entirely and restrict women’s access to education, among other demands.“I dedicate this honorary degree to the women of Chittagong who want to prove that education is their right,” she declared.
Blair is a Queen’s Counsel and Recorder. She established the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women to advance female entrepreneurs as an avenue to empowerment. The foundation supports women in Asia, Africa and the Middle East and provides them with training and funding to increase women’s security and their voice in tackling injustice. She has also been active on the issues of breast cancer, children from disadvantaged communities and prison reform.
Blair was appointed Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to women's issues and charity. In 2000, she was one of the founding partners of Matrix Chambers, which was created to focus on human rights law. She is married to Tony Blair, former UK prime minister and current Quartet Envoy to the Middle East.
Cherie Blair's remarks from Honorary Doctorate Ceremony
