Indian non-profit Educate Girls has been awarded the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award, one of Asia’s highest honours for public service and transformative leadership.

The organization dedicated the recognition to its vast network of field coordinators, community volunteers, and youth mentors who have helped bring millions of girls back to school across rural India.

Announced on August 31 and formally conferred at a ceremony at the Metropolitan Theatre in Manila, the award acknowledges Educate Girls’ efforts to confront entrenched inequalities and break cycles of poverty and illiteracy.

Established in 2007, the organisation now operates in more than 30,000 villages across Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Bihar.

Powered by more than 55,000 community-based volunteers, Educate Girls has enabled over two million girls to return to school and supported more than 2.4 million children through remedial learning programmes.

Accepting the honour, Founder Safeena Husain said the award belongs to the girls “who inspire us with their courage, grit, and resilience” and to the parents, teachers, and volunteers who support them. “Their dedication shows that when communities come together to educate girls, every girl gains opportunity, choice, voice, and agency,” she said.

CEO Gayatri Nair Lobo said the award strengthens the organisation’s resolve to achieve its next milestone: reaching 10 million learners by 2035 through its 10X10 initiative. “Millions of girls around the world are still waiting for their chance to learn, and we are determined not to let them wait any longer,” she said.

While presenting the honour, the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation praised 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 delegation of field coordinators, volunteers, and first-generation learners travelled to Manila to receive the award, regarded as Asia’s equivalent of the Nobel Prize and bestowed annually following a global nomination and rigorous evaluation process.