Meghan Markle has given one of her boldest speeches yet, in an address young women around the world. The Duchess of Sussex was speaking at a digital global leadership summit on Tuesday, organized by UN initiative Girl Up, where she gave an inspiring speech detailing how we should tackle racial and gender injustices by holding world leaders to account on issues such as gun violence, mental health awareness and the reform of the criminal justice system.
‘Those in the halls and corridors and places of power—from lawmakers to world leaders to executives—all of those people, they depend on you more than you will ever depend on them. And here’s the thing: They know this,' Meghan told the summit. 'Now many of them, better or worse, they don’t listen until they have to,' she continued. 'Because the status quo is easy to excuse and it’s hard to break.'
But she noted that we must campaign with compassion. ‘Compassion doesn’t mean we shouldn’t feel anger and outrage when we see blatant injustice all around us—of course we should,’ the Duchess added. ‘But I challenge you to broaden that feeling. The Dalai Lama famously said, “Compassion is the radicalism of our time.” Compassion means seeing the pain and suffering of others and knowing it’s our duty to try to help relieve it.'
In the powerful address, she also shared her thoughts on social media, which she thinks can 'aid', but also 'impair', the fight for justice. 'Our online role has the power to affirm and support as much as it does to harm,' she added.
Meghan - who said she would be 'cheering on' young women with her husband and son Archie - also noted her role models in the speech, saying that she finds inspiration from New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and WNBA star Maya Moore. 'We can take inspiration from women like Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who brought New Zealand together to swiftly and boldly tackle COVID-19, or Maya Moore, the WNBA star who has sat out from professional basketball since 2019 to free a man [prisoner Jonathan Irons] who served 20 years in prison for a crime he did not commit,' she added.
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