Education
Educate Girls Becomes First Indian NGO to Win the Ramon Magsaysay Award
In a landmark recognition for Indian education and grassroots activism, Educate Girls, founded by Safeena Husain, has been named one of the recipients of the 2025 Ramon Magsaysay Award. Often referred to as Asia’s Nobel Prize, this honour highlights the organisation’s transformative work in enrolling and empowering out-of-school girls across some of India’s most remote and underserved regions.
The announcement marks a historic moment — Educate Girls is the first Indian organisation to ever receive this award, underscoring the global importance of its mission. Alongside Educate Girls, the other awardees include Shaahina Ali from the Maldives for her environmental work and Flaviano Antonio L. Villanueva from the Philippines. The formal ceremony will take place on November 7 at the Metropolitan Theatre in Manila.
Safeena Husain: From Teacher Warrior to Global Recognition
For ScooNews, this moment carries a special resonance. In 2018, Safeena Husain was celebrated as a Teacher Warrior, honoured for her vision of tackling gender inequality at the root by ensuring that every girl receives access to education. What started as a 50-school test project in Rajasthan has since scaled into an expansive movement spanning 21,000 schools across 15 districts, supported by a network of 11,000+ community volunteers known as Team Balika.
Her journey, as she has often recalled, was shaped by both personal and professional turning points. After studying at the London School of Economics and working in grassroots projects across Latin America, Africa, and Asia, Safeena returned to India, deeply aware of the entrenched discrimination girls faced. A family encounter in a village, where her father was pitied for not having a son, crystallised her resolve to fight for gender equity through education.
Breaking Barriers in Education
Educate Girls has gone beyond enrolling girls into schools. Its programmes aim at:
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Increasing enrolment and retention of out-of-school girls
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Improving learning outcomes for all children in rural districts
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Shifting community mindsets through participation and ownership
The organisation has also pioneered innovative financing models such as the world’s first Development Impact Bond (DIB) in education, tying funding directly to learning outcomes.
Safeena has often spoken about the transformative power of education citing stories of girls who once had no aspirations simply because nobody asked them what they wanted to be, and who today, thanks to education, dream of becoming doctors, teachers, or even police officers.
Global Platforms, Indian Roots
Safeena’s vision has found resonance globally. In her TED Talk titled “A Bold Plan to Empower 1.6 Million Out-of-School Girls in India”, she emphasised that girls’ education is the closest thing we have to a silver bullet for solving some of the world’s toughest problems from poverty to health to gender inequality. In 2023, she was also awarded the WISE Prize for Education, cementing her reputation as one of the leading voices in education worldwide.
But even as Educate Girls receives international acclaim, its deepest impact continues to be felt in the dusty lanes of rural Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, where every single enrolment represents a victory against entrenched social barriers.
Why This Award Matters
The Ramon Magsaysay Award not only recognises Safeena Husain’s leadership but also places Indian NGOs on the global stage. It sends a powerful message: education is both the foundation of equity and the key to transformation. For India, a country with one of the world’s largest populations of out-of-school girls, this award validates years of struggle, innovation, and community-driven action.
For ScooNews, which first honoured Safeena as a Teacher Warrior in 2018, this moment is both proud and historic. It shows that when educators and changemakers stay rooted in their vision, their work can resonate far beyond borders.
