1 in 3 girls completes secondary education in India (UNESCO). India ranks 135 out of 146 in the Global Gender Gap Index.

Rise India

Despite the gains that India has made over the past 20 years, it remains a country with extreme gender inequality. This is a reflection of the gender-based discrimination that girls and women face throughout their lives. The evidence of it is pervasive and unsettling: relative to their male counterparts, girls in India endure disparities in secondary education and employment, are at a higher risk for violence, and experience a higher incidence of health problems.

Our programming is diverse, yet all focused on shifting the mindsets that have long prevented India’s girls from pursuing their dreams.

Girl Rising has been delivering education programs in India for over a decade, in collaboration with community-based organizations that offer innovative solutions to barriers to girls’ education. Together we reach adolescent girls, primarily from marginalized communities, improving the quality of education, addressing deep-seated gender norms, and building communities of allies for girls’ education and opportunities.

Girl Rising's New Comic Book for India:
Kusum's Adventurous Innings

Girl Rising and Yuvaa are so excited to launch Kusum’s Adventurous Innings, a powerful new comic book about a young girl who defies social norms and gender stereotypes to follow her love for the sport of cricket.

Kusum’s journey is more than a sports story. It’s about courage, resilience, and challenging the barriers that hold girls back. This comic is a vibrant new supplement to Girl Rising’s RISE curriculum, which uses storytelling and interactive activities to ignite conversations about gender, identity, and equality in classrooms and communities across India.