Camilla praised for belief in ‘justice for girls and women’

The Duchess of Cornwall has been praised for her belief in “justice for girls and women” as she celebrated pupils from an east London school who have embraced gender empowerment.

Camilla visited Mulberry School for Girls – where US former first lady Michelle Obama gave a rousing speech in 2015 – to learn about its work encouraging students to tackle issues based around their gender.

During the visit, innovative ideas were used by the school’s feminist society to make topics more accessible, with a coconut shy set up in the library where targets had labels like “stereotyping” or “inequality”.

The duchess used a bean bag with the word “leadership” on it to knock over a coconut, and also tried bowling at skittles with statistics about inequalities tied to them.

Camilla indulged her passion for all things canine when she was introduced to the Tower Hamlet school’s therapy dog, five-year-old Winnie.

She stroked the head of the Scottish terrier and joked with pupil Olivia Sheldon, 11, who held the animal, that she would like to take it home.

The school has been involved with the Women of the World festival (WoW), a charity which has grown to become a global network of events which champion gender equality, celebrate the achievements of women and girls, and examine the obstacles that stop them from fulfilling their potential.

Camilla is WoW’s president and was joined during the visit by Jude Kelly, the former Southbank Centre artistic director and WoW founder.

Ms Kelly said Mulberry School had been influenced by the ideas of her organisation and now its pupils were pushing WoW in new directions.

She added: “I said right from the beginning, WoW had to involve girls and women of all ages and backgrounds, and establish the idea that to have an excitement about equality you had to be talking about gender, race, sexuality, disability – all of those things.

“The whole thing about WoW is it’s meant to be spirited and exciting and fun but essentially about human progress.”

Speaking about Camilla’s involvement she added: “She’s a reflective person, a modest person but she deeply believes in justice for girls and women and equality.”