New Delhi: The Indian non-profit organisation called the Foundation to Educate Girls Globally, widely known as 'Educate Girls,' is one of the 2025 Ramon Magsaysay awardees.

Educate Girls is the first Indian organisation to receive this Award which has earlier been won by the likes of Satyajit Ray, Bezwada Wilson and Ravish Kumar.

Its founder Safeena Husain was quoted as having said, “Being the first Indian nonprofit to receive the Ramon Magsaysay Award is a historic moment for Educate Girls and for the country. This recognition places a global spotlight on India’s people-powered movement for girls’ education, one that began with a single girl in the remotest village and grew to reshape entire communities, challenging traditions and shifting mindsets."

The nearly seven-decade award, named after the former Filipino statesman, is one of Asia’s most prestigious prizes.

The citation noted that the organisation is being recognised 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.”

The Award Foundation noted Educate Girls’ groundbreaking work in mobilising entire communities to identify, enrol, and support out-of-school girls, ensuring that girls and women in India’s most marginalised and rural areas are given the chance to learn, thrive, and break the cycle of gender inequality.

Founded in 2007, Educate Girls was established on the belief that empowering girls through education creates a ripple effect that uplifts families, communities, and entire societies. Working in partnership with government systems, the organisation mobilises local volunteers known as Team Balika, who go door-to-door to identify out-of-school girls and bring them into classrooms.

"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," Husain said.

Other winners this year are Shaahina Ali from the Maldives and Father Flaviano Antonio L. Villanueva from the Philippines. Ali is being recognised for her fight against plastic pollution and safeguarding fragile marine ecosystems in the Maldives. Father Villanueva will receive the award for his work in restoring dignity to thousands of poor and homeless in Metropolitan Manila.

The awardees will formally receive their medallions and certificates during the on November 7 at Manila, Philippines.

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