Meghan Markle supported by African Women Lawyers’ Association in letter showing 'solidarity' with 'sister'

'It is a source of pride to have a sister accepted and married into the British royal family, seen as a mentor and the epitome of possibilities that can be achieved by the woman of African descent not just from the African continent but across the world and covering the Caribbean and Americas'
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Megan C. Hills16 December 2019

In October, it was announced that the Duchess of Sussex is taking legal action against the Mail on Sunday and its parent company Associated Newspapers after it published a private letter addressed to her father Thomas Markle.

Following a letter published by female MPs in “solidarity” with the Duchess that characterised some stories as having “outdated, colonial undertones”, the London-based African Women Lawyers’ Association has penned an open letter to their “sister” Meghan and condemned “racial discrimination and defamation.”

Addressed to Her Royal Highness, The Duchess of Sussex, the AWLA letter was shared by royal reporter Omid Scobie on Twitter. The AWLA is an organisation that aims to “help women of African and Caribbean descent enter the legal profession and develop their careers”, as well as “help members of our communities who are victims of injustice.”

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The letter began, “Dear Madam,

The African Women Lawyer's Association would like to offer our solidarity to your recently, very frustrating and extremely costly experience to you personally with the British national media. We feel that you are owed an apology and better treatment by the media for your charitable endeavours and royal duties performed with elegance and represents women of African descent on a world stage.”

Meghan at the Nyanga township over the Africa tour
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In September this year, Meghan went on a royal tour of Africa with Prince Harry where she helped raise awareness regarding a number of issues. For example, she visited a memorial where a female university student was raped and killed - a touchstone moment that launched a campaign against gender-based violence called #AmINext on social media - as well as donating baby clothes to the charity mothers2mothers, a foundation that helps women diagnosed with HIV find jobs in the healthcare profession.

During the tour, Meghan also gave a rousing speech in the Nyanga township where she told a crowd, “On one personal note, may I just say that while I'm here with my husband as a member of the Royal Family... I am here with you as a mother, as a wife, as a woman, as a woman of colour and as your sister.”

The letter continued, “Our organization, the African Women Lawyers' Association was founded on the principal to help women of African descent entering the legal profession progress in the various aspects of the profession. As such, it is a source of pride to have a sister accepted and married into the British royal family, seen as a mentor and the epitome of possibilities that can be achieved by the woman of African descent not just from the African continent but across the world and covering the Caribbean and Americas.”

Meghan played a paralegal named Rachel Zane in the legal drama Suits for years, and the AWLA added that she would “always be special in our hearts as Rachel Zane from Suits.”

Meghan at a mothers2mothers event
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The letter continued, “The racial discrimination and defamation of character that you have experienced in the national press and on social media by members of the press and the general public has to stop. We urge the national media on your behalf to start portraying your story in a way that edifies and continues to shine a torch of aspiration to every woman through your exemplary achievements.”

The letter was signed by the association’s CEO Margaret Mwila Nunkwe Buter and founder Caroline Newman.

The Duchess' lawsuit accuses the Mail on Sunday of illegally publishing one of her private letters, claiming it was a 'misuse of private information, infringement of copyright and breach of the Data Protection Act 2018.'

Prince Harry also filed an additional lawsuit and released a statement, in which he said that both he and Meghan believed in “media freedom and objective, truthful reporting” - though said that Meghan had become “one of the latest victims” of the British tabloid media.

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Saying that he “cannot begin to describe how painful” the situation had become for them, he said, “I have been a silent witness to her private suffering for too long. To stand back and do nothing would be contrary to everything we believe in....I’ve seen what happens when someone I love is commoditised to the point that they are no longer treated or seen as a real person. I lost my mother and now I watch my wife falling victim to the same powerful forces.”

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