Reports on Empowering 200 Girl Leaders in India

Project Report | Aug 21, 2026
Building a Safe Space: A Girl Icon's Leadership

By Annesha Das Gupta | Fundraising & Partnerships Manager

Photo has been changed to maintain privacy.

Chhatarpur located in north-eastern Madhya Pradesh is among India's Aspirational Districts. This means the rate of child marriage, school drop-outs and teenage mothers is alarmingly high in relation to the national average. Proper schools with clean toilets, drinkable water, mid-day meals and availability of regular & good teachers means commuting 20-30KMs each way for most remote communities. As a consequence, daughters of such communities are the first to dropout of schools because no family will allow them to travel such long distances daily without a male chaperone.

Milaan’s Girl Icon Program supports adolescent girls from such underserved communities in India to build confidence, leadership, life skills, and the ability to take action on issues affecting their lives. Through mentorship, peer learning, and community-based Social Action Projects, girls are equipped to continue their education, speak up for themselves, and create change within their families and communities. Over the past few months, we have continued to see how this support shapes girls’ lives beyond the formal program cycle.

And today, we want to tell you the story of one of our Girl Icon Alumna - Richa who is 16-years old and belongs to one of the remote villages of Chattarpur.

And every Girl Icon has a peer group of 20 other girls from her community - what the Girl Icon learns - 21st Century Critical Life-Skills which includes Communications & Negotiations, Financial & Digital Literacy, Sanitation and Hygience along etc - she also imparts to her peer girls.

And Richa has a stellar record as a Girl Icon - she got a Gold Medal for competiting with top marks all her own training sessions and managed to plan over 30 peer group training sessions with a 85% attendance which won her another Silver Medal from the Milaan team. Even her Social Action Project - which Richa and her peer girls did through a street-play on the urgent issue of child brides and managed to raise awareness with an audience of 150 village residents including the local government authorities in attendance.

But during her Girl Icon journey - she begin to observe one of her peer girls who was just a few years younger than her - suddenly become withdrawn, demotivated and stop participating in any of the conversations happening. Richa decided to approach the matter with discretion and after ensuring her peer member feel safe to confide in her - Richa got to realise much to her horror that the girl was being groomed by someone much older and is being coerced to drop-out of school and elope with him.

Richa immediately decided to alert one of the Milaan team-members and a trusted female teacher of the school where both Richa and peer girl attend - while ensuring that her peer member feel safe, her confidentiality is maintained and she get appropriate counselling from adults adapt to handle such complex scenarios.

And indeed fortunately through counselling of both the peer girl and careful discussions with her parents - she returned back to her old self, started to regularly attend both the training sessions and her classes as well.

Richa herself is extremely proud of her peer member and fervently hope that all of her peer group prioritises themselves first through higher education, well-paid jobs and utmost agency on their own life.

For her ownself, Richa dreams of becoming the first doctor from her village and has taken on Science especially Biology & Chemistry as her stream of choice in high-school.

Name and Photo has been changed to maintain privacy.

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May 5, 2026
When One Girl's Talent Becomes a Pathway for Many

By Swaha Sahoo | Country Director

Girl Icon - Kavya

Milaan’s Girl Icon Program supports adolescent girls from underserved communities in India to build confidence, leadership, life skills, and the ability to take action on issues affecting their lives. Through mentorship, peer learning, and community-based Social Action Projects, girls are equipped to continue their education, speak up for themselves, and create change within their families and communities. Over the past few months, we have continued to see how this support shapes girls’ lives beyond the formal program cycle.

One such alumna, Kavya, grew up in Karnataka in a large family where financial constraints and social expectations often shaped girls’ education, mobility, and livelihood choices. She had always been interested in art, especially wall painting, but it was seen more as a personal talent than a possible pathway to income or independence. During her Social Action Project, Kavya painted a school wall for the first time. Her work was noticed by teachers and community members, and soon she began receiving more opportunities to create wall designs in schools, offices, community spaces, and homes. What began as a program activity slowly became a way for her to earn, support household expenses, and contribute to her continued education.

Through the Girl Icon Program, Kavya also built communication, decision-making, leadership, and financial literacy skills. She formed a peer group of 20 girls and later collaborated with other girls to complete several wall painting projects. Alongside her education and part-time work, she has also supported young people through career and digital awareness sessions, helping them understand education options, technology, and future pathways. Her journey shows how one girl’s confidence can become a source of livelihood, peer learning, and community influence.

Kavya’s story reflects the multiplier effect of investing in adolescent girls. With the right mentorship, skills, and opportunities, a girl can continue her education, earn through her abilities, support her family, and help others see new possibilities for themselves. Your support makes this possible. It helps girls move from potential to action, and ensures that their leadership continues to travel through families, peer groups, classrooms, and communities.

Name and identifying details have been changed to protect the privacy of the program participant and community members.

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Jan 8, 2026
When Girls Speak, Families Listen

By Swaha Sahoo | Country Director

Vijay's daughter - Girl Icon Sheetal

Milaan’s Girl Icon Program works with adolescent girls from low-income communities to build leadership, confidence, and the ability to question deeply rooted social norms. Through life-skills training, mentorship, and community action, girls are supported to speak up for their rights, return to education, and lead change within their families and villages. This project is currently empowering 200 adolescent girls to take collective action and shape more equitable futures.

Across communities, the impact of this work is visible not only in the girls themselves but also in the people who begin to listen to them.

A Father’s Choice: Standing by His Daughter’s Education

In a small village of Northern India, Vijay grew up believing that education was meant only for boys. Financially constrained and working irregular jobs, he was expected to follow tradition. But when his daughter, Sheetal, a Girl Icon showed a strong desire to learn, he made a different choice.

Despite criticism from relatives and neighbors, Vijay enrolled his daughter in school and supported her education, working extra hours to meet expenses. Over time, his daughter not only continued her studies but also began mentoring other girls. Slowly, even community elders who once criticised his decision began to acknowledge the value of educating girls.

At a district-level interaction with the Milaan team, Vijay shared that his greatest pride now comes from his daughter’s achievements. His story highlights how a parent’s belief can strengthen a girl’s journey and influence an entire community.

Manasi: Starting a Conversation on Girls’ Education

Manasi is a teenage girl from a rural village in Uttar Pradesh, where girls leaving school early is often accepted without question. Before joining the Girl Icon Program, she rarely spoke in public and struggled to imagine how she could challenge this reality. Through leadership and life-skills sessions, she began to see her own voice as valuable.

When it came time to lead her Social Action Project, Manasi chose to address school dropouts among girls, a topic many avoided. With encouragement from her family, especially her father, she began inviting neighbors to attend a community meeting. Within fifteen days, more than 110 community members gathered, many of them fathers. During the discussion, one parent shared that he now wanted his daughter to return to school.

Once hesitant to speak, Manasi now leads conversations with confidence and supports other girls who are finding their voices. Her journey reflects how small, local actions can begin to shift long-held beliefs.

Together, these stories show what happens when girls are equipped with skills and confidence, and when families and communities choose to stand beside them.

(Constituent Names have been altered to protect privacy.)