Sanjina Banerjee Teaching at AUW in Bangladesh

After graduating with a BA in History and Modern Languages (2018), Sanjna Banerjee (Sanju) took up a position as a teaching fellow at the Asian University for Women (AUW) in Bangladesh, providing English tuition for students undertaking the pre-undergraduate programme.

AUW is an independent international university which provides access to education for women, empowering them to become professionals and leaders in their field within a diverse and multicultural environment. The majority of its students, many of whom are the first in their family to attend a university, receive scholarship support.

It’s this mission that has motivated Sanju to move to Bangladesh, a country which was at first unfamiliar to her. AUW students come from across the globe, including numerous women from Afghanistan, many of whom have refugee status. AUW’s cultural diversity allows for a pluralism of perspectives stemming from varied life experiences, forming an ideal environment for intellectual and personal growth.

Sanju described her experience as a teaching fellow so far as being incredibly enriching and rewarding, both personally and from the wider impact this direct engagement with women has. During her time at Keble, she was heavily involved in the Keble Arts Festival Committee, which inspired her to set up a similar enterprise at AUW. She has created a platform for creative expression for her students, highlighting the value of channelling difficult life experiences into works of art, including painting, poetry and photography. The first magazine published from this initiative, entitled Unspoken, highlights the pressing need to hear the direct and unfiltered voices of women whose voices and academic potential are so often stifled.