'Educate Girls', an Indian non-profit that educates out-of-school girls in remote villages, has been named a 2025 Ramon Magsaysay Award winner, the foundation announced on Sunday.
Popularly known as ‘Educate Girls,’ the Foundation to Educate Girls Globally has made history as the first Indian organisation to get the honour, the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation (RMAF) said in a statement. Individuals from India have got the prize in the past.
Regarded as Asia’s equivalent of the Nobel Prize, the Ramon Magsaysay Award honours individuals and organisations demonstrating exceptional courage and selfless service to the people of Asia.
The other 2025 awardees include Shaahina Ali from the Maldives for her environmental work and Flaviano Antonio L Villanueva from the Philippines for his efforts to uplift the poor and marginalised.
Each awardee will receive a medallion bearing the likeness of President Ramon Magsaysay, a citation, and a cash prize, the foundation said.
The 67th Ramon Magsaysay Award ceremony is scheduled for November 7 at the Metropolitan Theatre in Manila.
Founded by Safeena Husain, Educate Girls has been named for the in recognition of “its commitment to addressing cultural stereotyping through the education of girls and young women, liberating them from the bondage of illiteracy and infusing them with skills, courage, and agency to achieve their full human potential,” the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation (RMAF) said.
Established in 2007, Educate Girls was launched by Husain, a London School of Economics graduate, who returned to India from San Francisco to tackle female illiteracy.
{{/usCountry}}Established in 2007, Educate Girls was launched by Husain, a London School of Economics graduate, who returned to India from San Francisco to tackle female illiteracy.
{{/usCountry}}“Starting out in Rajasthan, Educate Girls identified the neediest communities in terms of girls’ education, brought unschooled or out-of-school girls into the classroom, and worked to keep them there until they were able to acquire credentials for higher education and gainful employment,” the RMAF statement added.
In 2015, Educate Girls launched the world’s first Development Impact Bond (DIB) in education, linking financial aid directly to measurable outcomes. “It began with 50 pilot village schools and eventually reached over 30,000 villages across India’s most underserved regions, benefiting more than two million girls, with a retention rate exceeding 90 per cent,” the Foundation said.
The organisation also introduced Pragati, an open-schooling programme enabling young women aged 15–29 to complete their education and access lifelong opportunities. The programme started with 300 learners and has since expanded to over 31,500 participants.
With PTI inputs