Indian NGO 'Educate Girls' wins prestigious Magsaysay Award

Manila: Indian non-profit organisation Educate Girls has been conferred with the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award, dedicating the honour to its 55,000 field coordinators, volunteers, and youth mentors who have helped bring millions of girls in India back to school.

The award, often regarded as Asia’s Nobel Prize, was officially announced on August 31, with the formal ceremony held on Friday at the Metropolitan Theatre in Manila, the Philippines’ capital.

Founded in 2007, Educate Girls operates across more than 30,000 villages in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Bihar, working to break cycles of poverty and illiteracy. With the support of its vast volunteer network, the organisation has enrolled over two million girls in schools and supported 2.4 million children through remedial learning programmes.

Accepting the award, Founder Safeena Husain said, “This award is for our girls, who inspire us with their courage, grit, and resilience — girls who manage household responsibilities and study late into the night to build brighter futures for themselves, their families, and their country.”

She further dedicated the recognition to the parents, teachers, community members, and 55,000 Team Balika volunteers, saying their commitment proves that when communities unite to educate girls, every child gains “opportunity, choice, voice, and agency.”

CEO Gayatri Nair Lobo described the honour as a reminder of the power of collective action. “It recognises our innovative programmes, the government’s impactful initiatives, and fuels our ambition for the next milestone — 10X10, reaching 10 million learners by 2035. Millions of girls are still waiting for their chance to learn, and we are determined not to let them wait any longer,” she said.

While presenting the award, the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation lauded Educate Girls for 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.”

A 25-member team from Educate Girls, including field coordinators, volunteers, and first-generation learners, attended the ceremony in Manila.

The Ramon Magsaysay Award, established in 1957, honours individuals and organisations demonstrating transformative leadership and greatness of spirit. Recipients are chosen annually through a global nomination process followed by a rigorous evaluation.

With PTI inputs