Educate Girls empowers 2 million girls, 'makes history' with 2025 Ramon Magsaysay Award

By A Representative

In a landmark achievement for India's non-profit sector, Educate Girls has been awarded the prestigious 2025 Ramon Magsaysay Award, widely regarded as Asia's highest honor. This makes them the first Indian organization to ever receive the award, which recognizes "greatness of spirit and transformative leadership."

The Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation honored Educate Girls for its "commitment to addressing cultural stereotyping through the education of girls and young women, liberating them from the bondage of illiteracy." Since its founding in 2007, the organization has worked tirelessly to empower girls through education, operating across more than 30,000 villages. With the support of over 55,000 community volunteers, Educate Girls has successfully brought more than two million girls back to school.

The organization’s founder, Safeena Husain, reflected on this historic moment, stating, "This recognition places a global spotlight on India’s people-powered movement for girls’ education... As we work to reach 10 million learners in the next decade and share this blueprint beyond India, we carry forward a simple truth that when one girl is educated, she takes others with her, multiplying change across families, generations, and nations.”

Educate Girls now joins a distinguished list of past awardees, including Nobel laureates Mother Teresa and the Dalai Lama, as well as Indian icons like filmmaker Satyajit Ray, social activist Sandeep Pandey, and former IPS officer Kiran Bedi. This year's other recipients include Shaahina Ali from the Maldives, recognized for her environmental work, and Fr. Flaviano Villanueva from the Philippines, honored for his efforts to help the homeless.

This accolade not only highlights the profound impact of Educate Girls' work but also underscores the global urgency of investing in girls' education as a powerful catalyst for social and economic transformation.

The 2025 Ramon Magsaysay Awardees will be formally honored at a ceremony on November 7th in Manila, Philippines.

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