Dr. Urvashi Sahni is one of India’s most influential educationists and social innovators, known for redefining education as a tool for justice, equity, and empowerment. A scholar, activist, and entrepreneur, her work focuses on transforming how marginalized girls learn and how education systems can be restructured to challenge inequality at its roots.

Founder and President of the Study Hall Educational Foundation (SHEF), Dr. Sahni has spent over four decades designing and implementing educational models that are inclusive, rights-based, and rooted in feminist thought. Her vision extends beyond schools—it aims to shift cultural mindsets, build equitable communities, and raise generations of girls who see themselves as agents of change.

Early Life and Awakening

Born and raised in Lucknow, India, Dr. Sahni grew up in a traditional environment shaped by patriarchal norms. Married at the age of 18, she experienced firsthand the limitations placed on women’s autonomy. But instead of accepting those constraints, she began to question them.

Her academic journey began with a Master’s degree in Philosophy from the University of Lucknow, and later took her to the University of California, Berkeley, where she earned a Ph.D. in Education with a focus on Language, Literacy, and Culture. At Berkeley, she was exposed to radical educational thinkers and feminist theory, which would become central to her life’s work.

It was here that she realized: education could be a political act—not just a means to a job, but a path to liberation.

From Advocacy to Action

Dr. Sahni began her public service in the early 1980s by co-founding Suraksha, the first family counseling center in Uttar Pradesh, to support women experiencing domestic violence and legal injustice. This formative work taught her that legal help alone was not enough; what women and girls truly needed was the power to speak, to understand their rights, and to resist discrimination from within.

Education, she believed, was the only tool that could equip them with that power—starting from a young age.

Building SHEF: A Platform for Transformative Learning

In 1994, Dr. Sahni founded the Study Hall Educational Foundation (SHEF) in Lucknow. What started as a single school quickly evolved into a multi-tiered education movement that now includes:

• Study Hall School: A progressive co-educational institution.
• Prerna Girls School: A pioneering model for rights-based education for low-income girls.
• Digital Study Hall: A tech-based initiative delivering quality education to rural and underserved regions.
• DiDi’s Social Enterprise: A vocational and employment platform for women from disadvantaged communities.
• Training and Policy Outreach: Working with state governments and public systems to embed gender equity in mainstream schooling.

SHEF’s work has directly educated over 150,000 girls and impacted over 20 million people through outreach, digital platforms, and teacher training programs.

Feminist Pedagogy: A Framework for Justice

At the core of Dr. Sahni’s approach is critical feminist pedagogy—a model that uses education to examine and challenge social hierarchies, especially gender-based oppression.

This method:

• Encourages students to interrogate power, identity, and societal norms.
• Trains teachers to foster dialogue and empathy rather than discipline and silence.
• Integrates subjects with questions of rights, voice, and responsibility.

Under her leadership, feminist pedagogy is no longer a fringe theory in India. It’s a working model—adopted, tested, and proven in hundreds of schools and communities.

Author, Scholar, and Public Intellectual

In 2017, Dr. Sahni authored “Reaching for the Sky: Empowering Girls Through Education”, published by the Brookings Institution Press. The book captures the stories of Prerna students, showcasing how feminist education transforms not just academic outcomes, but lives, families, and communities.

Her research and writings explore themes such as:

• Gender and curriculum
• Masculinity in education
• Rights-based schooling
• Inclusion in public education systems

She regularly speaks at international platforms including the World Economic Forum, UNESCO, Brookings, and WISE Qatar, and has contributed to India’s National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.

Recognitions and Honors

Dr. Sahni’s work has earned national and international recognition:

• India Social Entrepreneur of the Year – Schwab Foundation and Jubilant Bhartia Foundation (2017)
• Global Social Entrepreneur of the Year – World Economic Forum (2018)
• Ashoka Fellow – For systemic innovation in education (2011)
• BBC 100 Women Honoree – Celebrated as one of the most influential women worldwide (2017)
• Advanced Leadership Fellow – Harvard University (2024)
• Tatler Asia Impact List – Recognizing Asia’s leading changemakers (2020)

Her programs have influenced not just communities, but state-level education policies across India.

Legacy and Forward Vision

Dr. Urvashi Sahni’s legacy lies not only in the thousands of girls who now attend schools and enter universities, but in the culture of critical thinking and self-belief she has nurtured across generations. Her work offers a compelling argument that education, when done with purpose and equity, can be the most powerful instrument for societal transformation.

Looking ahead, she continues to mentor educators, advise governments, and evolve feminist pedagogical frameworks that respond to emerging global challenges—climate justice, AI, inequality, and civic decline.

In a world where education is often reduced to numbers and tests, Dr. Sahni insists on something more radical: an education that frees.