Safeena Husain

A London School of Economics graduate, Safeena was involved in various development projects spanning South America, Africa and Asia for 10 years. In India, Safeena chose the agenda closest to her heart – girls’ education. Safeena, together with a local team, successfully conducted a 500 school pilot in Pali, Rajasthan and established Educate Girls as an NGO in 2007. With focus on enrolment, retention and learning, Educate Girls has metamorphosed into a 12,000+ schools program, with over 1,50,000 girls enrolled in school till date, reaching over 3.8 million total beneficiaries. Safeena’s efforts to bridge the gender gap in education in India have been widely recognized. Under her leadership, Educate Girls has received the prestigious 2015 Skoll Award, 2014 WISE Award, the 2014 USAID Millennium Alliance Award and the 2014 Stars Impact Award and the India Development Marketplace Award in 2011 from the World Bank. Moreover, in 2013, she received the British Asian Trust’s Special Recognition Award from HRH Prince Charles for outstanding contribution in education. She recently won the 2016 NDTV-L’Oréal Paris Women of Worth Award in the Education Category.