Lopa Gandhi

Ugam Education Foundation, India

Title: Empowering Girls- a women led initiative

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Biography

Lopa has over 25 years’ experience in the not for profit space. She is the Founder of Ugam Education Foundation. Ugam works in collaboration with the state government, for the education and empowerment of marginalized adolescent girls in Jharkhand. Currently, Ugam works across 260 residential girls schools in Jharkhand. Ugam’s work facilitates the development of learning, health and gender education and voice and agency among girls, through local women leaders.

Lopa has significant expertise in program/curriculum design, teaching, training, facilitation and evaluation methods.

She has worked in various senior positions with Akanksha Foundation, Kaivalya, Muktangan, Antarang Foundation, Transform Initiative, Catalysts for Social Action etc.

Abstract

Empowerment; girls; rural; India; gender.

Education and empowerment of adolescent girls are pivotal to transforming individuals, families, and societies, directly contributing to five UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Zero Hunger, Good Health and Well-being, Quality Education, Gender Equality, and Reduced Inequalities. In Jharkhand, challenges remain acute: nearly 32.2% of women are married before the age of 18 far above the national average. Among adolescents (10–14 years), 89% are enrolled in school, but this drops sharply to 46% by ages 15–19. NFHS -5 data indicates that 30% women face gender based violence. While Jharkhand has made gains in female literacy (70.6%) and achieved a maternal mortality ratio of 56 per 100,000 live births (better than the national average of 97), gender disparities and disempowering socialization continue to restrict opportunities for girls.

To achieve gender equality and empowerment of girls, three critical steps are essential: ensuring completion of secondary education, fostering empowering school and institutional cultures, and creating role models, support systems, and safe community spaces for girls. To address these systemic challenges, Ugam complements government initiatives such as Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBVs) and anganwadis through three interlinked programs: developing local women changemakers (Sashakti Fellowship), who facilitate the creation of model KGBVs and strengthening community girls engagement through government run Anganwadis.

The Sashakti Fellowship, pioneered by the Ugam Education Foundation, is a youth-led, gendertransformative model designed to address systemic gaps in girls’ education and empowerment in Jharkhand, India. Every Sashakti Fellow demonstrates enhanced critical thinking, voice and agency along with financial independence, and leadership. The program has significantly enhanced fellows’ personal growth, with 97% overcoming limiting self-beliefs, 93% reporting improved leadership skills, and 100% adopting structured decision-making approaches. Independent travel, once possible for only 15%, is now achieved by 98%, while 93% have developed effective stress management strategies.

This young women led model is facilitating empowerment of girls in schools and communities. It is causing personal change leading to inter generational shifts in attitudes and is scalable since it is embedded in existing government institutions (schools and anganwadis).