The Basic Education and Literacy Rotary Action Group Board of Directors had the honor of hosting a Webinar on a vital subject on February 13, 2026. The presenter was none other than Past Rotary International President (2021-22), Shekhar Mehta, a pioneer of the Girls’ Empowerment movement in Rotary. Mr. Mehta’s presentation began with a universal truth that when we educate a girl, we do not just change her life, we change the trajectory of her family, her community, and her nation. In the view of Mr. Mehta, Girls’ Education can be “a force multiplier for dignity, development, and economic growth.” Mr. Mehta cited a UNESCO data to point out that 133 million girls around the world are illiterate, which means that there are that many “dreams deferred” and “future leaders delayed.” Mr. Mehta made a call for Rotarians to not quit hope and to keep building on the progress made with 50 million girls having entered schools worldwide since 2015. Mr. Mehta emphasized the need to build awareness on the socio-cultural and economic factors that impede our girls finding access to basic and higher education, like poverty, child marriage, safety concerns, and lack of clean bathrooms etc.
Mr. Mehta delineated the value of Girls’ Education as a tool of empowerment and “force multiplier” at multiple levels. Educated girls grow as women who can make informed decisions about the health, nutrition, and safety of their children, and also play a role in bringing down maternal and child mortality rates. Educated girls can refuse early matrimony and make choices that lead to personal growth and social stability. An educated girl, in the view of Mr. Mehra “raises the aspirations of others,” and becomes “a confident voice” to uplift and empower her family and her community. Mr. Mehta cited World Bank data which indicates that each additional year of schooling increase earnings by 10% globally. “Girls’ Education is one of the highest-return investments available to us,” affirmed Mr. Mehta, citing examples of how education enables women to be a part of the work force, strengthen supply chains, increase household savings, start small businesses, make positive choices, and most importantly invest in children’s education. Investing in Girls’ education, in the view of Mr. Mehta, leads to strong communities and prosperous nations on a growth trajectory. Mr. Mehta mentioned the Vivekananda school that was established and is being supported by his home club of Calcutta Mahanagar and the Calcutta Metro South clubs in District 3291, which is imparting holistic education to hundreds of students in a rural area of Kolkata. My mind went back to the seamless smiles that the students and teachers of this school imparted to us when I visited it with Zone 33-34 Polio Immunization team in February, 2025.
Mr. Mehta went on to share a poignant story about Sushmita, supported by a program being run by his home club of Calcutta Mahanagar called “Udaan” (meaning flight), which provides scholarships to marginalized children. Mr. Mehta and his wife Rashi Mehta supported the education of Sushmita who became a pharmacist and used her salary to support her sibling’s education as an engineer, thus becoming “a transformational figure” for uplifting her family and her community. Mr. Mehta cited another story about a Rotary-sponsored scholarship that enabled a young girl to complete her education in digital literacy and accounting, thus empowering her to run a small enterprise to employ 5 women and support her family. “This is economic development, powered by education,” said Mr. Mehta. I must confess that these two stories deeply resonated with me as a daughter who chose to be a breadwinner in her parents’ family, a single woman who chose a career in education as a vehicle to empower girls & boys, and now a mother who feels empowered by Rotary to promote Girls’ Education as a catalyst for all round growth among communities. Mr. Mehta applauded Rotary in being uniquely positioned as a local, global, and trusted humanitarian organization for implementing Girls’ empowerment initiatives like providing scholarships, building separate sanitation facilities, supporting digital literacy, offering vocational training, advocating against child marriage, and partnering with government and non-profits for girls in underserved communities around the world.
Mr. Mehta drew attention to the role of Basic Education and Literacy Rotary Action Group in doing an excellent role in promoting best practices, scaling up projects, and amplifying the impact of literacy projects. Mr. Mehta mentioned that during his term as the R.I. President in 2021-22 when the Empowering Girls initiative was front and center, Rotary witnessed a historic growth and extraordinary engagement in Girls’ Empowerment projects. “Clubs did not simply conduct projects, they transformed ecosystems,” affirmed Mr. Mehta. Among many others, Mr. Mehta illustrated his point of view by sharing one example of how Rotary partnered with the Rainwater harvesting systems in schools in Uganda to provide water availability and menstrual hygiene for girls in schools. This led to an improvement in attendance among girls, boosted their confidence, and imparted dignity to them.
Mr. Mehta made a call for action for Rotary clubs around the world to embrace Girls’ Empowerment and Girls’ Education as a long-term commitment and suggested 3 actionable items for Rotarians:
- Adopt the “Stay in School” Framework by ensuring girls’ access to separate toilets, clean water, menstrual health support, and safe environments
- Support the Critical Transition Years to ensure dropout rates go down
- Measure the Outcomes to track attendance retention, grade progression, leadership participation, and economic outcomes.
Mr. Mehta affirmed that technology will shape our futures, infrastructure will strengthen our nations, and capital will fund the progress of our communities around the world. Mr. Mehta concluded with a lucid and powerful claim that when we empower girls, we reduce poverty, we improve health, we strengthen economies, we build peace, and above all, we uphold dignity. Mr. Mehta called upon Rotary clubs to ensure that no girl’s potential is limited by circumstance because empowering girls, in his view, is not simply about education, it is about justice, it is about prosperity, it is about the future of our world. Mr. Mehta concluded his impactful presentation by affirming, “The most powerful force for transformation remains the educated girl.” Amen.
Dr. Anu Narula
Chair, BELRAG Girls' Education