Mothers of Courage, a documentary chronicling a women-led movement to promote girls’ education in rural Bihar, has won the 2026 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDG) Action Award in the Creativity category. The film received the award at the Heroes of Tomorrow ceremony in Rome on October 29, after being selected from more than 7,000 applications representing 190 countries and territories.

Directed by Vandana R Jaikumar and produced by Butterfly Effect Media, the documentary follows mothers and women leaders working within the Shikshagraha movement to challenge social practices that prevent girls from continuing their education.

The campaign has mobilised more than 1.19 million people across 14 districts of Bihar. It works through community gatherings known as Shiksha Chaupals, where mothers, parents and other residents discuss barriers to girls’ education, including school dropouts and child marriage, and make collective commitments to support girls' education.

Since October 2024, more than 51,078 Shiksha Chaupals have been organised across the 14 districts. The gatherings bring women together to discuss their daughters' education, share experiences and encourage families to allow girls to complete their schooling. Some mothers are working to ensure their daughters remain in school, while others are supporting their daughters-in-law who want to resume their education.

The campaign also encourages families to pledge that girls will not be married before the age of 18 and will be supported to complete secondary education. Women who may have had limited access to schooling themselves are taking on leadership roles in these village-level discussions.

S D Shibulal, co-founder and former CEO of Infosys and founder of ShikshaLokam, said the award recognised the role of communities in improving public education. "This recognition goes beyond an award for a film or a campaign. It is a celebration of community-led transformation in education," Shibulal said.

He said Shikshagraha was built on the belief that people closest to a child's education should have the opportunity and support to bring about change. He added that strengthening public education required coordinated efforts from governments, civil society, communities and philanthropic organisations.

Khushboo Awasthi, co-founder of Mantra4Change and chief curator of Shikshagraha, received the award in Rome. She dedicated the recognition to the women featured in the documentary and their efforts to change the educational opportunities available to the next generation.

Awasthi also acknowledged Urmila Kumari, Shikshagraha's state head in Bihar, for her work with women and adolescent girls across rural communities. Kumari said the recognition belonged to the thousands of women and girls involved in the campaign.

The documentary is part of Shikshagraha, a national movement to strengthen public education championed by Shibulal and supported by Bengaluru-based non-profits ShikshaLokam and Mantra4Change. The network brings together more than 40 partner organisations working across 16 states and Union Territories.

The movement has also expanded its Shiksha Chaupal model to Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Odisha. The gatherings are intended to bring education-related concerns into community discussions and encourage parents, local leaders and school representatives to take part in addressing them.

Mothers of Courage has received other recognition in 2026. It won Best Inspirational Film at the Los Angeles Film Awards and received a Silver at the ABBY Awards. It also won a Platinum SABRE Award for Best in Show and Gold SABRE awards for Public Education at the South Asia and Asia-Pacific awards. The film was India's only entry shortlisted in the Sustainable Development Goals Lions category at Cannes Lions 2026 and was named a finalist at the seventh Mumbai International Film Festival.

The UN SDG Action Awards recognise initiatives using creativity, community action and innovation to advance the Sustainable Development Goals. The Creativity category recognises work that uses visual expression, art and other creative approaches to inspire action on social and development challenges.