Indian Non-profit Educate Girls Wins Ramon Magsaysay Award, Dedicates Honour to 55,000 Volunteers

Educate Girls, an Indian non-profit organization dedicated to transforming the lives of girls in rural India through education, has been awarded the prestigious 2025 Ramon Magsaysay Award. The organization is the first from India to receive the honor. The Ramon Magsaysay Award is often called Asia's Nobel Prize. The award recognizes the organization's commitment to addressing cultural stereotypes and gender injustice through education, liberating girls from illiteracy, and empowering them with skills and courage.

The Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation (RMAF) recognized Educate Girls for its groundbreaking work in India's most rural and remote areas, creating a ripple effect that uplifts families, communities, and entire societies. The award highlights the power of grassroots movements and innovative education financing in enacting lasting social change.

Founded in 2007 by Safeena Husain, Educate Girls works in partnership with the government and communities in educationally backward areas to improve access to primary education for children. The organization operates in over 30,000 villages across Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar. By engaging with a large network of community volunteers, Educate Girls identifies, enrolls, and retains out-of-school girls while also working to improve foundational literacy and numeracy skills for all children.

Educate Girls has mobilized communities to enroll over 2 million out-of-school girls in school. The organization trains community volunteers, known as Team Balika, to implement a remedial learning curriculum using specially designed kits. These learning tools focus on building skills in English, Hindi, and Math for children in Grades 3, 4, and 5.

The organization's grassroots model has led to significant impact, including the enrollment and retention of over 2 million girls, expansion to over 30,000 villages across India, and a school retention rate exceeding 90%.

"This honour is a proud milestone for Educate Girls and our country," said Safeena Husain, founder of Educate Girls. "It celebrates our volunteers and spotlights the millions of girls who have reclaimed their right to education". The organization has dedicated the award to its 55,000 volunteers.

Educate Girls aims to achieve behavioral, social, and economic transformation for all girls, envisioning an India where all children have equal opportunities to access quality education. The organization leverages existing community and government resources to ensure girls are in school and learning well. Educate Girls aims to improve access to and the quality of education for around 10 million learners by 2035.

The Ramon Magsaysay Award was established in 1958 to recognize individuals and organizations in Asia demonstrating "greatness of spirit and transformative leadership". The award recognizes Educate Girls' commitment to breaking the cycle of illiteracy and poverty for girls in India.