RISE
India
Partnering with schools to implement a curriculum-based program that builds life skills, deepens social-emotional learning, and transforms gender stereotypes.
The RISE curriculum engages students, teachers, parents and caregivers, and government stakeholders, leading to systemic, sustainable change.
In 2025 Girl Rising and Yuvaa created Kusum’s Adventurous Innings, a comic book about a courageous young girl who defies 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 part of our RISE curriculum, igniting conversations about gender, identity, and equality in classrooms and communities across India.
Kusum's Adventurous Innings
Stories like the Ruksana film and the Kusum comic book open up opportunities for discovery and learning. The RISE curriculum builds:
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Social-emotional skills to nurture confidence, resilience, and agency
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Critical thinking to empower young people to analyze information, challenge biases, and make thoughtful decisions
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Financial literacy for informed decision-making and independence
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Digital literacy to prepare young people for a rapidly evolving world
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Storytelling skills to foster a greater sense of identity, build confidence, and amplify their voices
Through RISE, we work in partnership with government across India
We primarily reach first generation-learners.
We design one- and two-year programs for implementation in school and community settings, aligned with the objectives of the Indian government’s National Education Policy.
We collaborate with community-based organizations to design and deliver programs that are locally-informed and built for lasting impact.
"From the Girl Rising program, I learned that we girls can do anything boys can do. We can do work equal to them."
Kaveri, 17
With the RISE curriculum, we are reaching 2 million students through in-person and on-line programming to try to change that.
In India only
1 in 3 girls completes secondary school.
And India is near the bottom of the Gender Gap Index
Program Implementing Partners
