- The charity World Vision shared a previously unreleased video of Meghan Markle during her visit to India in 2017, before she married Prince Harry.
- The Duchess of Sussex's visit was focused on gender equality and girls' access to education and proper hygiene.
- Meghan previously wrote an essay about this trip, where she reflected on how the stigmatization of menstruation can affect girls' education.
Meghan Markle might currently be out of the spotlight as she prepares to welcome her first child with Prince Harry, but fans just got to see a new side of the royal that they haven't seen before. The charity World Vision shared new footage of Meghan today, showing previously-unseen highlights from her trip to Delhi and Mumbai, India in 2017—a year before she married Prince Harry.
The video, shared on the British outlet ITV, shows Meghan visiting a school that just got new toilet facilities as she promotes the importance of having clean hygiene for girls. She tells the cameras, "What we found is that the enrollment at this school went up three times once the latrines were built so that girls had access to clean hygiene and bathroom facilities while they're at school."
The footage shows Meghan painting a mural with the students, helping them plant and water a flower outside, and meeting with a group of women while wearing a green and gold saree. Later on in the video, she watches a traditional performance and shouts "Girl power!" while posing with the dancers.
Meghan previously wrote about this visit, which took place in January 2017, in an essay for Time magazine that March. She explained that the purpose of the trip was to "meet girls and women directly impacted by the stigmatisation of menstrual health and to learn how it hinders girls’ education." She noted that 113 million girls in India between the ages of 12-14 "are at risk of dropping out of school because of the stigma surrounding menstrual health," which can set them behind their male classmates.
Female empowerment and education continue to be important priorities for Meghan as she develops her career as the Duchess of Sussex. During her royal tour of the Pacific with Prince Harry last fall, she gave an emotional speech about the importance of allowing young women access to higher education. She's also a royal patron of the Association of Commonwealth Universities and continues to use her platform to vocally support women's issues and gender equality.
Erica Gonzales is the Senior Culture Editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees coverage on TV, movies, music, books, and more. She was previously an editor at HarpersBAZAAR.com. There is a 75 percent chance she's listening to Lorde right now.
