A Never-Before-Seen Video Of Meghan Markle Campaigning For Gender Equality In India Was Just Released
Watch the new footage right here
Photo: Getty
Meghan Markle has been advocating for women's rights and girls' education long since before she was a member of the royal family. Case in point: never-before-seen footage of Meghan's charity work in India was just released.
The video, which was first published by ITV, illustrates Meghan's work with the organization World Vision over the course of a 2017 trip to Delhi and Mumbai.
In the clips, the future Duchess of Sussex speaks to the importance of schools having adequate bathrooms for girls.
"What we found is that the enrollment at this school went at three times as much once the latrines were build so that girls had access to clean hygiene and bathroom facilities while they're at school," she says.
Per royal reporter Chris Ship, "In India, 113 million teenage girls are at risk of dropping out of school cos of no basic sanitary facilities."
Viewers also see Markle helping several young girls paint a sign and plant and water a flower. We also see her participating in a discussion, watching a dance performance, and finally, the video ends with her saying "girl power."
Watch it in full here:
Following her trip, the Duchess wrote an opinion piece for Time about the need to change the conversation about periods and how menstrual health hygiene affects potential in young women, particularly citing her experiences in India.
"Wasted opportunity is unacceptable with stakes this high. To break the cycle of poverty, and to achieve economic growth and sustainability in developing countries, young women need access to education," she wrote.
"When we empower girls hungry for education, we cultivate women who are emboldened to effect change within their communities and globally. If that is our dream for them, then the promise of it must begin with us. Period."
Now, as a member of the royal family, with an even larger platform, Meghan has continued her advocacy work for women, supporting organizations like Smart Works, which provides clothing, career coaching, and interview preparation to women who need it, and initiatives like the Hubb Community Kitchen, which serves as a space for the victims of the devastating Grenfell Tower fire to meet and cook.
Photo: Getty
But she hasn't forgotten about girls' education.
On her recent visit to Morocco with Prince Harry, the Duchess showed her support for girls' education once again by visiting a secondary school that provides classes for girls from rural areas.
According to Kensington Palace, Education for All "has given girls from the poorest villages and most remote areas of Morocco the chance to reach their potential and contribute to Morocco's continued development."
This article originally appeared on Town&Country.
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