Meghan Markle delighted New Zealanders by speaking Maōri in a speech about gender equality

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October 29, 2018 12:17 PM

'Tena koutou katoa,' Meghan Markle started by saying in a speech about women's suffrage in New Zealand on Monday.

Prince Harry
Meghan Markle

"Tena koutou katoa," Meghan Markle started by saying in a speech about women's suffrage in New Zealand on Monday.

The phrase, which means "greetings to all," was spoken in te reo Maōri, the Eastern Polynesian language spoken by the indigenous population of New Zealand.

Her speech was delivered at Government House in Wellington during her and Prince Harry's 16-day royal tour of the British Commonwealth.

The duchess' native greeting was met with whoops, cheers, and lively applause from the crowd of dignitaries.

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New Zealand was the first country in the world to give all women the right to vote in parliamentary elections, which it did in 1893 (women in the US were not given a universal right to vote until 1920).

The duchess said: "The achievements of the women of New Zealand who campaigned for their right to vote and were the first in the world to achieve it are universally admired.

"In looking forward to this very special occasion, I reflected on the importance of this achievement, but also the larger impact of what this symbolises.

"Because yes, women's suffrage is about feminism, but feminism is about fairness."

She added: "Suffrage is not simply about the right to vote but also about what that represents: the basic and fundamental human right of being able to participate in the choices for your future and that of your community."

Meghan concluded her speech by saying: "So bravo New Zealand, for championing this right 125 years ago for the women who well deserve to have an active voice and an acknowledged vote.

"In the words of your suffragette, Kate Sheppard: all that separates, whether race, class, creed or sex is inhuman and must be overcome."

Sheppard was the leader of the women's suffrage movement in New Zealand — her face still appears on the country's 10-dollar note.

Harry and Meghan are spending four days in New Zealand before returning to the UK on Thursday.

The couple's marathon tour of the Commonwealth has seen them open and close the Invictus Games in Australia and visit Fiji and Tonga.

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