Safeena Husain, the Founder of Educate Girls, has been awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), for her outstanding contributions to girls’ education in India. This prestigious recognition highlights Safeena’s relentless efforts to enhance access to education for girls in India’s underserved villages. Safeena and Educate Girls, were honoured with the “Changemaker: Social Transformation Award” by businessline in 2023.
Founded in 2007, Educate Girls has mobilised over 18 lakh girls for school enrolment, and provided remedial learning support to over 22 lakh students. This remarkable impact, has been achieved through the dedication of nearly 20,000 community-based gender champions, working in India’s most marginalised communities.
Safeena joins a distinguished group of recipients of LSE doctorate, including renowned figures like Prof. Muhammad Yunus, Prof. Tim Berners-Lee, and Prof. Klaus Schwab. The list also includes esteemed Indian personalities such as Raghuram Rajan and Jagdish Bhagwati.
Safeena who is an LSE alum received this honour on May 29, 2024, in London. LSE President, and Vice Chancellor, Professor Larry Kramer, who presented the award to Safeena, shared that “Safeena Husain is a champion for the pressing cause of girls’ education, and a pioneering social entrepreneur – in the language of LSE’s 100x Accelerator, she has built a “social unicorn,” or an enterprise that, through its combination of technical innovation, and cultural intelligence, is making a significant positive impact on society on a massive scale. LSE could not be prouder of her, both as an alum and as a humanitarian, fulfilling the promise of our School’s mission.”