Meghan Markle addresses #MeToo and Time’s Up movements: ‘There is no better time’

As soon as Meghan Markle ties the knot with Prince Harry in May, she says she will “hit the ground running” in support of women’s rights.

The royal bride-to-be made her official debut alongside Harry, Prince William and Kate Middleton at their first engagement as a foursome on Monday at an event highlighting The Royal Foundation.

And the former Suits star used the opportunity to shine a light on the #MeToo movement and the Time’s Up campaign.

“I hear a lot of people speaking about girls’ empowerment and women’s empowerment — you will hear people saying they are helping women find their voices,” she said. “I fundamentally disagree with that because women don’t need to find their voices, they need to be empowered to use it and people need to be urged to listen.

“Right now with so many campaigns like MeToo and Time’s Up there’s no better time to continue to shine a light on women feeling empowered and people supporting them”

Meghan’s future sister-in-law, Kate, made headlines earlier this month for her dress choice for the annual BAFTAs (the British equivalent of the Oscars). The royal was criticized for walking the red carpet in a deep green gown with a black sash after attendees were encouraged to wear all black in support of the Time’s Up movement.

While royal family members generally steer clear of political issues, some critics took to social media to express their disappointment that the royal mom didn’t show support for the women’s movement

Kate has made a point to support women’s issues in her royal work around mental health and motherhood.

“Personally, becoming a mother has been such a rewarding and wonderful experience,” she said in a speech last year. “However, at times it has also been a huge challenge. Even for me who has support at home that most mothers do not.”

Meghan has been speaking out about the issue of equality since she was a young child. The future royal was inspired to change a TV commercial at the age of 11, after having seen a Procter & Gamble commercial that advertised its Ivory dishwashing soap solely to women.

The commercial for the soap struck her as unfair and insensitive when she heard, “women all over America are fighting greasy pots and pans.”

“I don’t think it’s right for kids to grow up thinking these things, that just mom does everything,” the then 11-year-old said during an interview with Nick News.

Source: http://ew.com