Never-before-seen footage of Meghan Markle on India trip to highlight plight of young girls experiencing period poverty

Hatty Collier17 April 2019

Never-before-seen footage has emerged of Meghan Markle visiting India, clad in a traditional sari and bindi, to highlight the plight of girls in period poverty.

Meghan, who is due to give birth in the coming weeks, was filmed during her trip to New Dehli where she highlighted the plight of girls whose education suffers when they are menstruating.

The duchess, who at the time was still working as an actress in the US drama Suits, was a global ambassador for World Vision, the international children's charity.

The video, filmed during the January 2017 visit, shows her planting flowers and painting signs with girls at a school where World Vision installed clean water and sanitation facilities.

A bindi is painted onto Meghan's head by a young woman
World Vision

A young woman also paints a bindi on Meghan's forehead and showers her with flower petals.

Meghan during a trip to New Delhi in 2017 where she highlighted the plight of young girls experiencing period poverty
World Vision

When she returned, she wrote a piece for Time Magazine about her experiences and said: "I travelled to Delhi and Mumbai this January with World Vision to meet girls and women directly impacted by the stigmatisation of menstrual health and to learn how it hinders girls' education.

Meghan planting flowers at a girl's school
World Vision

"One hundred and thirteen million adolescent girls between the ages of 12-14 in India alone are at risk of dropping out of school because of the stigma surrounding menstrual health.

Meghan, who is due to give birth in the coming weeks, is shown during her trip to New Dehli where she highlighted the plight of girls whose education suffers when they are menstruating
World Vision

"During my time in the field, many girls shared that they feel embarrassed to go to school during their periods, ill equipped with rags instead of pads, unable to participate in sports, and without bathrooms available to care for themselves, they often opt to drop out of school entirely."

The visit came at the start of a year that would end with Harry and Meghan announcing their engagement and marrying a few months later in 2018.

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