Meet Safeena Husain whose ‘Educate Girls’ won Magsaysay Award 2025
Educate Girls Globally, the organization founded by Safeena Husain, has won Ramon Magsaysay Award 2025 for its contributions towards education of girls and young women
Mumbai: Educate Girls Globally, the organization founded by Safeena Husain, has won Ramon Magsaysay Award 2025 for its contributions towards education of girls and young women.
The Ramon Magsaysay Award is considered Asian equivalent of the Nobel Prize. It recognises greatness of spirit shown in selfless service to the peoples of Asia, according to news agency PTI.
First Indian Organization to win Magsaysay Award
The Foundation to Educate Girls Globally, widely known as 'Educate Girls,' has made history as the first Indian organisation to receive the Ramon Magsaysay Award, a statement from the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation said.
"Safeena Husain's Educate Girls has been named for Asia’s Premier Prize and highest honour 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 Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation (RMAF) said in a statement.
The other two winners include Shaahina Ali from the Maldives for her environmental work and Flaviano Antonio L Villanueva from the Philippines.
The 2025 Ramon Magsaysay Awardees will each receive a medallion bearing the likeness of President Ramon Magsaysay, a certificate inscribed with their citation, and a cash prize, the statement said.
The 67th Ramon Magsaysay Award Presentation Ceremonies will be held on November 7 at the Metropolitan Theatre in Manila.
‘A Historic Moment’
“A historic moment for Educate Girls and the country’, Safeena Husain said after the organization founded by her won the coveted prize.
Safeena Husain is a graduate from London School of Economics. She returned to India in 2005 from San Francisco with the aim of tackling female illiteracy through her work.
Educate Girls since its foundation in 2007 has enrolled over 1.1 million girls and impacted more than 15.5 million people across India.
The NGO brings out-of-school girls into classrooms, supports them to continue their education, and works to break cultural barriers that limit their opportunities.
[Safeena Husain with her father and Bollywood actor Yusuf Hussain in a file image. Yusuf had died due to Covid-19 aged 73.]
Safeena Husain initially focused on working with the Ministry of Education in partnering with schools in Pali and Jalore which had the worst education gender gaps at the time. Safeena Husain later contacted Pratham and UNICEF to learn best practices.
Educate Girls work has been partially funded by the world's first education related Development Impact Bond.
Safeena's father Yusuf Hussain, a Lucknow native and businessman, who later joined the film industry and shifted to Mumbai. Yusuf was known for his work in various Bollywood films including Dhoom 2, OMG – Oh My God!, Raees, Dil Chahta Hai and Krrish 3.
Safeena Husain is married to Indian filmmaker Hansal Mehta.
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