Meghan Markle does not take her voice lightly.
While the Duchess of Sussex and former American actress has been a public figure for nearly a decade now, even she understands the struggle of feeling unheard.
With the centennial of women's right to vote in the United States being celebrated in August and the 2020 presidential election approaching, Markle and dozens of other prominent women—including Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton and Oprah Winfrey—weighed in on why they're casting their vote in November in a feature for Marie Claire's first digital August issue.
As Markle powerfully explained to the magazine, "I know what it's like to have a voice, and also what it's like to feel voiceless. I also know that so many men and women have put their lives on the line for us to be heard. And that opportunity, that fundamental right, is in our ability to exercise our right to vote and to make all of our voices heard."
Archie Harrison's famous mom also referenced her well-known husband, Prince Harry, in her explanation. As Markle noted, "One of my favorite quotes, and one that my husband and I have referred to often, is from Kate Sheppard, a leader in the suffragist movement in New Zealand, who said, 'Do not think your single vote does not matter much. The rain that refreshes the parched ground is made up of single drops.'"
Markle concluded, "That is why I vote."
The longtime champion of women's rights also referenced Sheppard in a 2018 speech she gave commemorating the 125th anniversary of women's suffrage in New Zealand while visiting the country at the time.
As the royal said in her remarks, "Women's suffrage is not simply about the right to vote for women, but also about what that represents: the basic and fundamental human right of all people, including those members of society who've been marginalized whether for reasons of race, gender, ethnicity or orientation, to be able to participate in the choices for their future and their community."
In finishing her speech, the royal borrowed another quote from Sheppard: "All that separates, whether of race, class, creed or sex, is inhuman and must be overcome.'"
See Marie Claire's full voting feature here.