Royal tour: Meghan meets women fighting for gender and racial equality in South Africa – Sky News, Sky.com

             

The Duchess of Sussex has praised the brave women who have paved the way on gender and racial equality, calling on young activists to “keep at it and know that you are working for this generation and the next”.

Meghan has been staying back in Cape Town with her five-month-old son Archie as Prince Harry has been traveling to Botswana, Angola and Malawi as part of their southern Africa tour.

But behind the scenes Meghan has been holding private meetings to get to know more about the issues facing South Africa.

She invited a group of female leaders who have campaigned on equality and racism to join her for breakfast to find out more about the roles they play and have played for their country and communities.

Among them was Sophia Williams De Bruyn, who in 1956 LED 20, 000 women on a march in Pretoria against apartheid laws.

     

Speaking about Ms Williams De Bruyn after the event, the duchess said: “I was recently reminded that the first one up the mountain often gets knocked down the hardest, but makes way for everyone behind them.

“These brave women have been able to see how their struggle can pave the way for so many.

“For all young women organizations, activists and campaigners today, you must keep at it and know that you are working for this generation and the next, and also continuing the legacy of the generations of great women before you.”

Speaking about the issue of gender-based violence and how it is at the forefront of people’s minds, she added: “This is not just a South African issue, this is a global problem that can only find solution with the attention and work of everyone regardless of gender, status, politics, race or nationality. “

Lindiwe Mazibuko, the first non-white woman to lead the opposition democratic alliance party in South Africa, was in the meeting and said: “We’re both black women, we are both the first of our kind: she’s the first black woman to become a senior royal in the United Kingdom, I was the first black woman to lead the opposition in South Africa so and again that’s not unique to the duchess and myself, most black women who enter pretty much any field have a very high chance of being the first black woman to do so.

“That’s how far behind we are .

“But those two points you know, having the platform and being the first to have that platform are something that I ident ify with very strongly when it comes to the Duchess of Sussex and that’s why it was such, just such a pleasure to discover how deep her interest in South Africa is, how much she had learnt about what we were facing, what we’re dealing with before she came here. “

Before she married Harry, Meghan passionately campaigned on women’s rights and wrote about being made to feel different because of her mixed race heritage.

More recently in a magazine interview Prince Harry spoke about the unconscious bias that still exists around race.

The couple are clearly thriving on being able to connect with different countries in their roles as Commonwealth ambassadors.

The duke and duchess are president and vice president of the Queen’s Commonwealth trust, creating a platform for them to engage with young people across the Commonwealth on issues such as education, conservation, mental health and youth leadership.

This 10 – day tour has given them the chance to travel to places where racism, segregation and inequality more pronounced than back home in the UK.

Earlier in the week, as she was hearing about the struggles faced by thousands of families during apartheid at the District Six museum, Meghan appeared almost close to tears.

The Royal Family, through their work has always embraced diversity, but Meghan is helping them connect and empathise on a new level.

Later today Prince Harry will visit a college in Lilongwe in Malawi to see how they are helping girls to attend and finish their secondary school education.

The project, called CAMA, has been supported by the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust since 2017, and helps support vulnerable children to complete school. It has supported nearly 39, 000 children to date in Ghana, Tanzania, Zambia and Malawi .