The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, on the third day of their official tour of India, met a group of Indian women, including an acid attack victim, to hear about a range of issues affecting women and girls in the country.
The meeting was convened at the personal request of Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, who wanted an opportunity to hear directly from women working to support other women and girls, the British High Commission said in an official statement.
The royal couple met acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal and heard about her inspirational campaign 'Stop Acid Attacks'.
Laxmi was attacked at the age of 15 by a 32-year-old man after she rejected his marriage proposal.
She explained her decision to stop covering her face in order to encourage other victims not to hide and also spoke of her successful fight for tougher legal restrictions on the sale of acid.
The statement said Prince William thanked her for her bravery.
Among the women the royal couple met was Sunita Jaiswal, a survivor of domestic abuse, and journalist Soumya Menon who spoke about the role of media in these issues.
The discussion noted the positive developments that social silence on these issues has now been well and truly broken and that the government of India is treating this as a priority, the statement said.
Later on Tuesday, the royal couple reached Assam.
