Thread by @GreenPartyWomen

Our #DefendingDemocracy conference is kicking off✊🏽✊🏾✊🏼

@klinaj explains why her ecological activism brought her to help set up @MakeVotesMatter after the 2015 election which highlighted like never before how dramatically unfair our voting system & how much it blocks change⤵️

Most countries using the First Past the Post voting system are former British colonies. This is one of the worst colonial exports which continues with a huge impact to this day

🇳🇿Hope can be found in how New Zealand changed its voting system from FPTP to PR...⤵️

So much evidence that countries with PR perform better on education, child poverty, environmental policies, equality & so much more.

Women leaders have performed better in dealing with the #covid19 pandemic, but these are countries with PR - who are more likely to elect women!⤵️

Lockdown has added momentum to @MakeVotesMatter activism

There is a wave of energy behind the attempt to make @UKLabour support Proportional Representation - working with local parties, MPs, and organisations such as @CompassOffice.

There has to be grassroots pressure⤵️

.@klinaj deals with a question on how to deal with egos whilst building a movement

And ends with a call to action: get involved with @MakeVotesMatter! You can involved with local groups, events, online activism

Electoral systems is a life & death issue⤵️
makevotesmatter.org.uk

Our voting system is part of the reason people think politicians are 'all the same'

It prevents diversity in politics- not only in terms of parties but also in terms of the kind of people who get involved & elected

All parliaments that has more than 40% female members uses PR⤵️

The argument that PR lets in extreme parties into power is wrong. FPTP is more likely to:

❌foster extremism
❌put extremists into govt

Getting a few extremists elected shines a spotlight on them & leads to decrease in support!⤵️

More info: makevotesmatter.org.uk/mythbusting

Next up is @the_ecofeminist setting out why she is an ecofeminist and launched the #GreenDemocracy project.

Democracy must be by the people & for the people - but must also include the environment⤵️

She starts by outlining what's happening to Lake Chad:
theguardian.com/global-develop…

Why did she become an ecofeminist?

Seeing the impact of climate change on Lake Chad & its disappearance on the countries around it: violence, clashes, ethnic clashes, sexual violence, famine, social unrest, political unrest...

Women and girls are especially affected⤵️

.@the_ecofeminist: "Climate change makes democracies more fragile - it made the situation in Mali worse.

"Climate unrest induces social unrest"

Democracy is key to peacebuilding. Peacebuilding is harder with extreme weather, flooding, drought, lakes drying up, unrest, hunger"⤵️

She mentions the schoolgirls kidnapped in 2014 - there were more schoolgirls kidnapped later. Women and girls are more affected by social unrest and increase in terrorism and violence⤵️

Read a great interview with her here:

wen.org.uk/2020/08/26/why…

Next up is @GreenPartyMolly. We are living in an unprecedented time in terms of the rolling back of democracy around the world and here.

In the UK, the Brexit referendum was stolen with dirty money and lies, and the government is acting more and more authoritarian⤵️

We need to get active. Get reading Tim Snyder's On Tyranny.

'Strongmen' are growing worldwide - they operate through weaponising mysoginy, racism and homophobia

🇵🇱Poland rolling back women's and LGBTQ rights
🇭🇺Hungary demonising Muslims
🇧🇷attack on indigenous people in Brazil⤵️

We see attacks on democractic standards and the rule of law everyone

We need to be #defendingdemocracy & the rule of law, boring as it might sound

Women have a role to play - it's not a coincidence these are 'strongMEN'

Women have only had political power for 100 or so years⤵️

Strongmen are part of the backlash to women's growing political power since suffrage.

All authoritarian govts have been clearly misogynist. Women are key to the solution to democracy rollback

"Cherish democracy. Know your enemy. Organise with me against it" ~ @GreenPartyMolly⤵️

You can find out more @GreenPartyMolly's work on democracy, from talks to articles to ways of getting involved, here: mollymep.org.uk/molly-at-work/…

Check out the beer mats she had made using @TimothyDSnyder 21 rules for #defendingdemocracy⤵️

Thank you to all our speakers for this brilliant event on democracy, women and the planet.🌍♀️✊🏽

You can find them on twitter : @the_ecofeminist, @GreenPartyMolly and @klinaj.

The event will be available online shortly both on youtube and on our podcast 'Green Women'.🎧