Harry & Meghan Mark International Day of the Girl in Conversation with Malala

To mark International Day of the Girl, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex participated in a conversation with the inspirational Malala Yousafza. Speaking from their home in Montecito, the couple spoke about the vital importance of educating young girls and in turn the ripple effect on communities and families. It's a topic Meghan has long been passionate about and one we've seen her further explore through her role as patron of the Association of Commonwealth Universities. It was excellent to see Harry involved too, underpinning the value of men's involvement in this conversation.

Meghan discussed her advocacy work for women and trips to India and Rwanda where impediments hindering girls from fulfilling their potential, such as menstrual hygiene management, were clear barriers for girls. "Similar to you, I see something that is so critical to be addressed and so critical to be fixed and that by fixing that one thing, you end up fixing multiple problems. What I realised very early on was that when women have a seat at the table, conversations in terms of policy change, conversations in terms of legislation, certainly in terms of just the dynamics of the community are all shifted, and typically when a woman is present at the table, she's going to be advocating for the entire family." Meghan continued: "So much is at stake if we don't give a young woman an opportunity to learn and to get an education. I think there is no greater time for all of us to acknowledge that with everything else happening with Covid, on International Day of the Girl, for each of us to make a commitment that yes, the layers upon layers that are happening in this context of Covid-19 are immense but all it has done is add on top of the problems that already existed."

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'Duchess Meghan also discussed her priorities when it comes to raising Archie and explained, "To be able to raise our son in a way where everything about his nourishment is in terms of educational substance, and how you can learn and how you can grow. You know, having the privilege of being able to go to school is something that, I think, oftentimes is taken for granted."

Harry described the role of women's education as "critical" for the future in fields of science and climate change efforts ahead. "With an education, it provides money, it provides an income, which makes you less susceptible to disaster, less consumption, so all of these things are so deeply connected to one another that I think education at a young age opens up so many doors and so many opportunities and so many possibilities." Malala smiled and said to Meghan "you're blessed to have such a great companion".

Malala asked Harry and Meghan how they have been spending their time amid the pandemic to which they responded with some adorable updates on their "little one". "We were both there for his first steps. His first run, his first fall, his first everything." Meghan added: "In so many ways we are fortunate to be able to have this time to watch him grow, and in the absence of COVID, we would be traveling and working more. We’d miss a lot of those moments." Harry spoke about their efforts supporting the causes they care about. "We've been working really, really hard and completely understand and get how challenging this is for absolutely everyone. The longer it goes on the more it's going to be felt especially from a mental health aspect. This is a really unifying moment to bring everyone together and acknowledge what everyone has been through, this traumatic experience, wherever you are in the world."

There was a very sweet moment at the end when Malala said "I'm shortsighted so I can't see the screen clearly. So I'm going to wear my glasses so I can see the screen clearly. I don't know if Archie can talk yet, but all my best wishes and love and kisses to him".

Malala is an incredible young woman who has been fighting for positive change since she was a child. Born in Pakistan in 1997, her father was a teacher in a girls school and brought up his daughter to understand the value of education. The Taliban took control of the village Malala's family lived in and in 2012, while on a bus in the Swat District after taking an exam, Malala and two other girls were shot by a Pakistani Taliban gunman...simply because Malala spoke out on behalf of girls and their right to learn. Ten days later she woke up in hospital in Birmingham; following months of surgeries and rehabilitation she joined her family in their new home in the UK.

Displaying incredibly courage and strength, Malala was determined she would not be silenced and vowed to dedicate her life to supporting women and girls and advocating for their right to an education. With her father's help, the Malala Fund was established, a charity striving to ensure every girl has access to opportunities. In 2014, Malala received the Nobel Peace Prize - becoming the youngest ever Nobel laureate. In 2020, she graduated from Oxford University. In her discussion with Harry and Meghan she discussed the challenges of graduating in the pandemic and it reminded me just how young she is. It's going to be a privilege for all of us to watch what Malala does next. If you would like to donate to the Malala Fund please click here.

The Duchess wore a sleeveless black top and off-white trousers with a sleek updo. I'll update if details emerge.

We'll see Meghan again on Tuesday in discussion with Emma Hinchliffe about the importance of leading with your values and chasing convictions with action as part of Fortune's Most Powerful Women Summit. In the meantime, the team from Teenager Therapy have shared this behind-the-scenes snap from the podcast recording. The post on the conversation is here.