Prize for Women's Creativity in Rural Life
Her project supports the following SDGs:
What are the SDGs?
The Sustainable Development Goals are a call for action by all countries – poor, rich and middle-income – to promote prosperity while protecting the planet. They recognize that ending poverty must go hand-in-hand with strategies that build economic growth and address a range of social needs including education, health, social protection, and job opportunities, while tackling climate change and environmental protection.
Madhu Jain chose to confront one of the most silent yet powerful forms of inequality: the denial of education for girls in rural Rajasthan: The " Arogya initiative" for 35'000 schoolgirls.
In remote villages of rural Rajasthan, where patriarchy is deeply embedded, female literacy remains fragile, and girls' aspiration are often curtailed even before they begin. Jain Madhu chose to confront one of the most silent yet powerful forms of inequality: the denial of education for girls in rural Rajasthan.
Madhu recognized that the absence of literacy was not merely an educational gap, but a systemic suppression of females, effectively imposing a lifelong condition of dependency, restricted agency, and social invisibility.
In 2016, at a time when female literacy in Rajasthan remained among the lowest in rural India, particularly in belts inhabited by tribal and marginalized population, Madhu initiated Sakhiyon Ki Baadi (SKB), as one of the largest girl child literacy projects in rural Rajasthan, establishing over 1200+ learning centers across the state of Rajasthan.
Madhu's vision was rather than imposing an external institutional model; she wanted to create safe, culturally acceptable, community-rooted learning spaces within villages. Where literacy among girls was nowhere a consideration, these centers became the first doorway to learning for thousands of girls.
The challenges she faced were formidable. In many villages, the very idea of educating daughters was met with skepticism or resistance. Madhu did not confront communities; she engaged with them; she listened to their stories. Over time, as the first few girls began to read, write and speak with newly found confidence, doubt slowly transformed into trust, inhibition were replaced with possibilities and dreams began to take form.
Madhu's work powerfully advances the UN Sustainable Development Agenda 2030. It promotes: SDG 4 (Quality Education) by ensuring inclusive and equitable foundational learning in remote rural communities.