Indian non-profit working for girls’ education among winners of Magsaysay Award for 2025

Considered the Asian equivalent of the Nobel Prize, the Ramon Magsaysay Award, recognises greatness of spirit shown in selfless service to the peoples of Asia.

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.

‘Educate Girls’ founded by Safeena Husain 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 RMAF statement said.

Educate Girls was founded in 2007 by Safeena Husain, a graduate of the London School of Economics, then working in San Francisco, who decided to return home to India to take on the challenge of female illiteracy.

“Starting out in Rajasthan, Educate Girls identified the neediest communities in terms of girls’ education, brought unschooled or out-of-school girls into the classroom, and worked to keep them there until they were able to acquire credentials for higher education and gainful employment,” the statement said.

In 2015, it launched the world’s first Development Impact Bond (DIB) in education, aimed at tying financial aid to outcomes. “It started with 50 pilot village schools reaching over 30,000 villages across India’s most under-served regions, involving over two million girls, with a retention rate of over 90 per cent,” the Foundation said.

Educate Girls also launched Pragati, an open-schooling programme that allows young women aged 15-29 to complete their education and avail themselves of lifelong opportunities with the initial cohort having 300 learners that has grown to over 31,500.

Founder Safeena Husain termed the award as a “historic moment for Educate Girls and for the country,” and said, “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.” Previous winners of the Ramon Magsaysay Award from India include social worker Mother Teresa (1962), politician Jayaprakash Narayan (1965), filmmaker Satyajit Ray (1967), journalist Ravish Kumar (2019), environmental activist Sonam Wangchuk (2018), politician Arvind Kejriwal (2006), RTI activist Aruna Roy (2000), former IPS officer Kiran Bedi (1994) and journalist Arun Shourie (1982).

Ali from the Maldives, the Foundation said, was being recognised for “her unwavering commitment to protecting the marine ecosystem of the Maldives with passion, vision, and inclusivity, ensuring that her work will be carried on by another generation of Maldivians in search of effective local solutions to global problems.” The statement said, Villanueva from the Philippines, a priest, is being recognised for “his lifelong mission to uphold the dignity of the poor and the oppressed, daily proving with unwavering faith that by serving the least of their brethren, all are restored.” He also protested the government crackdown on drug users and helped provide proper funerals to those killed during the government action.

In a statement, RMAF chairperson Edgar O Chua said, “For 67 years, the Ramon Magsaysay Award has celebrated transformative leaders who have become enduring beacons for Asia and the world.” “Each generation of Ramon Magsaysay Awardees has shown us that integrity, courage, and compassion can shape societies for the better. This year’s recipients stand firmly by that proud tradition,” Chua said.