I first met Camilla Parker Bowles, now the Queen Consort, eight years ago. Since then she has been a woman who has not only cared about the work to end FGM, but about ending all forms of violence against women and girls. Much has been said about Camilla recently, but few have truly recognised her feminism and her commitment to protecting women and girls.
We now have a Queen Consort who we know is a feminist. One who has chosen to back charities working with women who have experienced domestic abuse. A woman who backed legislation against public sexual harassment when so many others looked away.
The last time I met her was a year ago when she delivered an impassioned speech, calling for the world to unite against sexual violence against women.
Ahead of the Women of the World Foundation’s Shameless! Festival Camilla said: “We need to get the men in our lives involved in this movement. We do not, in any way, hold all men responsible for sexual violence. But we do need them all on board to tackle it.”
She, like me and many women who are fighting for a safer world for women and girls, know that abusive men are not born, they are constructed. I remember her speaking these words and feeling not just privileged to know her but also that she would one day hold a role that meant at the head of our country was a woman who stood with us in this important battle.
The United Kingdom and the Commonwealth are about to enter a new era with the death of Queen Elizabeth II. Yesterday as I watched the funeral along with billions of others I was hopeful that the reign of King Charles would be one where issues that have been overlooked for years would now have support of the Royal family.
I honestly can’t explain the feeling when Charles or Camilla, now the King and the Queen Consort, ask you about the fight against FGM and when they name-check The Five Foundation at a function.
In the last few years, when I met them, their interest was not something prompted by a script or an aide but something that came from the heart. Our new King was the man who gave me my OBE in 2019 and in our few minutes together when he asked “are we winning the fight?” and how my niece was. He did it because he remembered me and the issues that mattered.
As impactful as the Elizabethan era was for women and girls with such a powerful female as head of state, the new era under Charles can be too.
We now have a man who understands that to be great he will have to help ensure that we not only end violence against women and girls but also the fear of it for millions.
In other news...
Today world leaders including our new prime minister Liz Truss will be in New York attending the United Nations general assembly. As expected, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will be top of the agenda but there will also be other issues that make it to the table. Many heads of African and South American countries will be meeting with G7 leaders for the first time since Covid, and I for one know that the issues of how building back differently post-Covid will be at the forefront.
In order for us to meet the 2030 sustainable development goals things have to change. The UK, the US and others must see developing countries as strategic partners, not just aid-receivers.
Covid showed us not just how close we are as a global community, but also how we have to work together and deliver for those in need. There can no longer be a “them and us” approach to the world, which has been the way the UN has worked for years. There has to be a collaborative process to achieving a world where the SDGs are a reality and not just a list of wishful goals in well-written reports.
