Educate Girls: Improving the Quality and Outcomes of Girls’ Learning

In India, women and girls, especially in rural areas, are particularly affected by the country’s illiteracy problem, since they face discrimination based on their sex and need for childbearing. In Rajasthan, the north- western Indian state that borders Pakistan, 9 out of 26 districts have the worst gender gap in India for girls’ education.

Established in 2007, Educate Girls is holistically tackling issues at the root cause of gender inequality in India’s education system that has helped to ensure over 90% enrollment and significantly higher attendance for all girls as well as improved school infrastructure, quality of education and learning outcomes for all children.

As a result of Educate Girls’ efforts to date, an army of “girls champions” has been created to combat cultural issues and support systemic change. More than 150,000 out-of-school girls have been enrolled in school and the program has benefitted around 3.8 million of beneficiaries. Continuing to address the social and cultural barriers in girls’ education can bring about real transformation, such as improvement in health, income levels, and overall livelihoods in rural populations.