Mishaal hosts fundraiser for education in South Asia

Boston University student advocacy group Mishaal’s Do it to the Music fundraiser Friday will use South Asian performances to raise money for women’s education, a cause that Mishaal President Supriya Jain said greatly affects many from the region.

Mishaal’s first annual fundraiser, which will be held at 7 p.m. Friday in the Law Auditorium, will raise money to fund a project to provide young girls with tuition-free educations in India.

“You know how it works [once you leave school], there’s no way you’re going to get back. We think it’s a great idea to have a place to devote all your work to studying and education and do your best,” Jain, a College of Engineering and College of Arts and Sciences senior said.

The show will feature nine acts of singing and dancing, most of which will incorporate traditional South Asian performing arts.

“We got a lot of BU core South Asian dance teams to perform, which we think is really cool because it’s our first big event,” said Mishaal Treasurer Muna Sheikh, a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences.

CAS junior Amol Mehta, manager of all-male Indian fusion dance team Khatarnak, said his team will perform at the show.

“This event gives an opportunity for our team to showcase our dance routine in addition to promoting an excellent cause,” Mehta said.

Mishaal members said they plan to donate the proceeds to the Association for India’s Development for a project in the Gujarat region called True, which works to provide girls in grades six through nine with tuition-free education at a hostel.

Jain said that the project enables girls to receive an education they would usually not have access to at home.

“We think it’s a noble cause and we really want to help,” she said.

Girls in the region tend to experience poverty, domestic violence, religious extremism and poor healthcare in South Asia, Sheik said, factors which persist due to a lack of primary education.

“What’s great about our club and our mission statement is it’s really a message that students at a university are all here because we understand the value of an education and how profoundly it can impact lives,” Sheikh said.

Mishaal members said that the show is receiving help running the fundraiser from the performers, as well as financial support from the Student Allocations Board.

“People are just so generous and willing to donate their time and effort,” Jain said. “[Mishaal] represents the light that we hope our efforts will be, to make a positive turn and help people get what they deserve. I don’t think we are doing anything extraordinary, I just think we are helping people get every bit of their birth right of education.”