Educate Girls NGO wins Ramon Magsaysay Award 2025, becomes first Indian organisation to get the honour

Husain, 54, founded ‘Educate Girls’ in 2007 in Rajasthan to empower out-of-school girls in remote villages.

A London School of Economics graduate, Safeena Husain returned to India in 2005 from San Francisco with the aim of tackling female illiteracy through her work.

The NGO has enrolled over 1.1 million girls and impacted more than 15.5 million people across India. It brings out-of-school girls into classrooms, supports them to continue their education, and works to break cultural barriers that limit their opportunities.