(Johannesburg) – Meghan, wife of Britain’s Prince Harry, said that empowering women through education could be transformational for communities during a visit to Johannesburg University in South Africa.
“When a woman is empowered it changes absolutely everything in the community and starting an educational atmosphere is really a key point of that,” the Duchess of Sussex told a roundtable of academics and students.
“Education, I think higher education specifically, is such a key element for growth, economic growth but also personal growth and development,” she added.
Meghan took over in January from Queen Elizabeth, Harry’s grandmother, as patron of the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU), a role the queen had held for more than three decades.
She announced three new “gender grants” from the ACU for South African universities, the goal of which she said was gender equality and supporting women working in higher education and research roles.
The duchess also announced four new Queen Elizabeth Commonwealth Scholarships that she said would see students from Tanzania, Zambia and Nigeria study in South Africa next year.
