From trauma to triumph, Safeena Husain’s journey shows how one woman’s vision is changing the lives of 2 million girls in rural India through education.
A Childhood That Shaped a Vision
For most kids, the school bus ride home is filled with laughter and relief. But for Safeena Husain, it was the hardest part of her day. Each step towards her front door meant stepping back into a home marked by poverty, violence, and abuse.
“School was my safe space,” Safeena recalls. “It gave me a sense of normalcy when everything else around me felt broken.”
That sanctuary was snatched away when circumstances forced her to drop out. Watching friends breeze through high school and college while she was left behind crushed her confidence. “No girl should ever feel that she doesn’t deserve anything in life,” she says.
Years later, this painful memory would fuel a movement that transformed education for millions of girls in India.
Turning Pain into Purpose
When Safeena returned to her studies with the help of an encouraging aunt, everything shifted. “The world began to look at me very differently,” she says. She realized education wasn’t just about textbooks it was about dignity, opportunity, and identity.
Fast forward 18 years, and her NGO, Educate Girls, has become a force of change in rural India. In 2024, it became the first Indian NGO to win the Ramon Magsaysay Award, often called the “Asian Nobel Prize.”
The Harsh Reality: Why Girls Drop Out
Imagine this:
- A girl wakes up at dawn.
- She cooks, cleans, grazes goats, tends cattle, and works all day.
- She goes to bed exhausted,without ever opening a book.
Now imagine another girl:
- She ties her school uniform, eats breakfast, and walks to school.
- She studies, laughs with friends, and dreams about the future.
This stark contrast is the reality for millions of girls in India. Between 2020 and 2022 alone, 4.1 million girls dropped out of school (UDISE+ report).
Educate Girls: Breaking Barriers, Building Futures
Safeena’s NGO tackles these issues head-on through three flagship initiatives:
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Vidya: Early Access to Education
- Community volunteers identify out-of-school children.
- Villagers, school staff, and influencers are mobilized to change attitudes towards girls’ education.
- Thousands of children are enrolled and retained every year.
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Pragati: Second Chances for Women
- Supports girls and women forced to quit school due to family responsibilities.
- Provides coaching and preparation for exams like Class 10 and 12.
- 56% of participants go on to higher studies, skill programs, or even start their own businesses.
Case in point: Susheela (22) had once quit school to care for her sick mother. Through Pragati, she completed her Class 10 with 75% and is now applying for Class 12.
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Community Engagement
- Thousands of volunteers, called Team Balika, drive grassroots change.
- Their role is not just to enroll girls, but to transform how entire communities view education.
The Numbers That Speak Volumes
- 2 million+ girls enrolled back in schools.
- 30,000 women given a “second chance” at education.
- Entire villages now reinvesting local budgets into girls’ education.
One story Safeena loves sharing: a girl she enrolled in Class 3 grew up to become her village sarpanch (head). Today, she allocates a significant chunk of the local budget to girls’ education.
That’s the ripple effect of education.
The Mindset Revolution
Safeena believes tackling patriarchy requires more than policies ,it needs aspiration, confidence, and support.
“If one of these three ingredients is missing, change will not happen,” she says.
- Aspiration: Families must dream for their daughters.
- Confidence: Girls need to believe in themselves.
- Support: Communities must stand with them.
As she points out, “Patriarchy stains us all; some with a colour of light pink and some with deep red. We all have to unlearn these biases together.”
Why This Award Matters
Winning the Ramon Magsaysay Award isn’t just a feather in Safeena’s cap , it’s proof that India is reimagining what education means for its daughters.
“This is not my victory,” Safeena insists. “It is an Indian story.”
Key Takeaways
- Education transforms everything , confidence, opportunities, and even village economies.
- Second chances matter,thousands of women like Susheela are rewriting their futures.
- Community is the catalyst,lasting change happens when society itself shifts its mindset.
Join the Movement
Girls who learn today will lead tomorrow. But millions are still waiting outside classroom doors.
