An Indian nonprofit, 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, which is considered Asia’s equivalent of the Nobel Prize. It recognises selfless service and greatness of spirit in Asia. The 67th Ramon Magsaysay Award presentation is scheduled for November 7 at the Metropolitan Theatre in Manila.&nbsp;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. The NGO was founded by Safeena Husain to empower out-of-school girls in remote villages.&nbsp;&nbsp;

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">We are proud to present the 2025 Ramon Magsaysay Awardees. Discover their inspiring stories and impactful work at <a href="https://t.co/13iyCwwUpq">https://t.co/13iyCwwUpq</a>.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RamonMagsaysayAward?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RamonMagsaysayAward</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/67thRamonMagsaysayAwards?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#67thRamonMagsaysayAwards</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GreatnessOfSpirit?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GreatnessOfSpirit</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TransformativeLeadership?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TransformativeLeadership</a> <a href="https://t.co/rsDssP39F2">pic.twitter.com/rsDssP39F2</a>&mdash; Ramon Magsaysay Award (@MagsaysayAward) <a href="https://twitter.com/MagsaysayAward/status/1962007405400838210?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 31, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Husain, 54, founded ‘Educate Girls’ in 2007 in Rajasthan to empower out-of-school girls in remote villages. Safeena, a London School of Economics graduate, returned to India in 2005 from San Francisco with the aim of tackling female illiteracy. “Being the first Indian non-profit to receive the Ramon Magsaysay Award is a historic moment for Educate Girls and for the country,” news agency PTI quoted Husain as saying. “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 village and grew to reshape entire communities, challenging traditions and shifting mindsets,” she added. Safeena’s husband is a prominent personality, filmmaker Hansal Mehta, who has made movies on social issues, among other subjects. ‘Educate Girls’ was recognised 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 added. The NGO, in 2015, launched the world’s first Development Impact Bond (DIB) in education, linking financial aid directly to measurable outcomes. “It began with 50 pilot village schools and eventually reached over 30,000 villages across India’s most underserved regions, benefiting more than two million girls, with a retention rate exceeding 90 per cent,” it said. The organisation also introduced Pragati, an open-schooling programme that allows young women aged 15–29 to complete their education and access lifelong opportunities. The programme started with 300 learners and has since expanded to cover 31,500 participants. Other 2025 winners include Shaahina Ali from the Maldives for her environmental work and Flaviano Antonio L. Villanueva from the Philippines. Each recipient will receive a medallion, a certificate, and a cash prize.

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. It has enrolled over 1.1 million girls and impacted more than 15.5 million people across India.

An Indian nonprofit, 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, which is considered Asia’s equivalent of the Nobel Prize. It recognises selfless service and greatness of spirit in Asia. The 67th Ramon Magsaysay Award presentation is scheduled for November 7 at the Metropolitan Theatre in Manila. 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. The NGO was founded by Safeena Husain to empower out-of-school girls in remote villages.

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. It has enrolled over 1.1 million girls and impacted more than 15.5 million people across India.

Indian NGO ‘Educate Girls’ wins Magsaysay Award for empowering out-of-school girls in villages

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Friday (December 6) met with the relatives of Tetsu Nakamura, a Japanese doctor and aid worker killed in an attack in eastern Afghanistan.

Nakamura was killed on Wednesday (December 4) by unknown gunmen who riddled the car he and five others were driving in the city of Jalalabad.

Born in western Japan, Nakamura, 73, trained as a doctor and answered a 1984 recruitment call to work in a clinic treating leprosy in the Pakistani city of Peshawar, attracted by the region's stark beauty.

He began treating Afghan refugees who were pouring over the border in the wake of the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, which led to him opening a clinic in that country in 1991.

Following a devastating 2000 drought which brought scores of starving and ill people to his clinic, he first helped bore wells and then came up with the idea of an irrigation canal, inspired by similarities between Japanese and Afghan rivers.

In 2003 - the same year Nakamura was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award, often called Asia's Nobel - construction began. After six gruelling years of labour, much of it by hand and in temperatures as high as 50 Celsius, the canal was finally completed.

Since then, some 16,000 hectares (40,000 acres) of the desert has been brought back to life, making Nakamura such a widely revered figure in Afghanistan that earlier this year he became the first foreigner awarded Afghan citizenship.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Friday (December 6) met with the relatives of Tetsu Nakamura, a Japanese doctor and aid worker killed in an attack in eastern Afghanistan.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Friday (December 6) met with the relatives of Tetsu Nakamura, a Japanese doctor and aid worker killed in an attack in eastern Afghanistan. Nakamura was killed on Wednesday (December 4) by unknown gunmen who riddled the car he and five others were driving in the city of Jalalabad. Born in western Japan, Nakamura, 73, trained as a doctor and answered a 1984 recruitment call to work in a clinic treating leprosy in the Pakistani city of Peshawar, attracted by the region's stark beauty. He began treating Afghan refugees who were pouring over the border in the wake of the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, which led to him opening a clinic in that country in 1991. Following a devastating 2000 drought which brought scores of starving and ill people to his clinic, he first helped bore wells and then came up with the idea of an irrigation canal, inspired by similarities between Japanese and Afghan rivers. In 2003 - the same year Nakamura was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award, often called Asia's Nobel - construction began. After six gruelling years of labour, much of it by hand and in temperatures as high as 50 Celsius, the canal was finally completed. Since then, some 16,000 hectares (40,000 acres) of the desert has been brought back to life, making Nakamura such a widely revered figure in Afghanistan that earlier this year he became the first foreigner awarded Afghan citizenship.

Afghanistan's Ghani meets family of Japanese doctor killed in attack

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Indian NGO ‘Educate Girls’ wins Magsaysay Award for empowering out-of-school girls in villages

Afghanistan's Ghani meets family of Japanese doctor killed in attack