Dr Lisa Cameron MP attends “green-bombing” of Millicent Fawcett statue
Millicent Fawcett statue “green bombed” to highlight climate crisis as this century’s feminist struggle
On Wednesday 22 September – East Kilbride, Strathaven & Lesmahagow MP, Dr Lisa Cameron joined activists and parliamentarians at the statue of suffragist Millicent Fawcett in Parliament Square as she was “green-bombed” [Wednesday 22 September], during Great Big Green Week, as part of #Wednesday4Women, a day of action for climate justice and gender equality ahead of COP26.
The stunt, arranged on behalf of CrackTheCrises coalition, took place as campaigners delivered a letter to President for COP26, Alok Sharma MP, signed by charities, campaigners and celebrities. Both stunt and letter highlight that women and girls are disproportionately affected by the climate crisis and must be central to solutions to tackle it.
Dr Lisa Cameron MP said “
Gender equality campaigner Helen Pankhurst attended, while the statue, representing last century’s foremost feminist struggle for women’s suffrage, was surrounded by a miniature forest – highlighting the most critical feminist issue of the 21st Century: the climate crisis. The statue, which holds a placard reading “Courage Calls to Courage Everywhere”, bore a new temporary placard, reading “Courage calls to Climate Action Everywhere.”
Helen Pankhurst was joined at the statue by a range of cross party MPs, who came together in support of the cause, and took “selfies” with the statue in support of #Wednesday4Women and #GreatBigGreenWeek. They all received symbolic “no more loopholes” bracelets made by members of CrackTheCrises’ partner organisation the Women’s Institute. This craft action calls on the UK government to deliver a greener, cleaner & healthier future for everyone.
CARE International’s Southern Africa Advocacy Advisor, Chikondi Chabvuta, based in Malawi, said “The climate crisis is making the fight for gender equality much harder. The world’s poorest women and girls have already seen more extreme heat and rainfall, more drought, and more powerful hurricanes. These crises are proven to increase gender-based violence, hit women’s livelihoods hardest and prevent girls from attending school. But women are also often leading the response in their communities, and their leadership needs to be recognised and supported in policies and funding agreed at COP26.”
CARE International’s UK head of Advocacy and Policy, Katherine Nightingale, explains why the climate crisis is a feminist issue: “The compounding impacts of climate change on women and girls need to be understood and needs to be centre-stage at COP26. The UK Government can do this by increasing financial support for climate action that supports gender equality, and that reaches women-led organisations responding to the climate crisis in their communities.”
Helen Pankhurst said: “We are demanding of our leaders that they do everything in their power to limit global warming and that they do so with a gendered lens – with women and girls equally represented at climate decision-making tables – especially those most impacted by the climate crisis. Around the globe, when it comes to who is represented in official Climate Action policy-making, we see a small section of men in charge. This is not good enough. Equal representation matters. It mattered in politics 100 years ago when my ancestors and Millicent Fawcett were fighting for the vote, and it matters today when it comes to an existential threat and the need for climate action.
“Women and girls care about the climate as much as men and boys, in fact many notable climate activists have been women so why do official policy makers still not get it?”
#Wednesday4Women organisers call for the UK government to use the opportunity of hosting COP26 by ensuring:
- The unprecedented ambition needed to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees.
- Increased international financial support to communities on the frontline of the climate crisis – including women’s rights organisations – to adapt to climate change and address loss and damage
- Specific targets for how the UK’s climate finance will deliver on gender equality and reach women’s organisations
- Investment for a fossil fuel free future that creates green jobs, and prioritises a feminist and women’s rights perspective
- Climate decision making, which is transparent, inclusive and equitable and ensures diverse women’s voices and participation, including in the UK’s COP26 team.