Topless Ukrainians In Trouble For Insulting Tricolour [Topfreedom]

For the first time, members of Ukrainian protest group Femen face a criminal case, though not for stripping in public for women's cause.

Anonymous activists of the feminist group face a criminal case in a court in the Ukrainian capital Kiev for their topless protest on the balcony of Indian ambassador Rajiv K. Chander's residence on January 18, during which they tore down the Indian Tricolour.

The activists were protesting against India's alleged visa crackdown against women from some former Soviet states.

The government has reportedly asked the country's diplomatic missions in Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan to tighten the overview of visa applications by women aged 18- 40 in an attempt to curb the inflow of sex workers to India.

About 40,000 tourists from the Central Asia republics and more than 70,000 from Russia visit India every year. A large number of women from some of the Central Asian republics travel to India to work as prostitutes.

The Femen protesters, baring their breasts even in sub-zero temperatures, climbed the balcony of the ambassador's residence with placards bearing slogans such as 'Ukraine is not a bordello', 'We are not prostitutes', 'Delhi, close your brothels' and 'We demand apologies'.

A press release by Femen stated: "The problem of prostitution in India is not dependent on women from Ukraine, Russia or Kazakhstan. It is directly linked with criminal impunity for the pimping business within India itself." The protest has landed the activists in trouble as two cases were filed against them on charges of hooliganism and desecration of state symbols. The Ukrainian police said they may end up in prison for up to four years.

Femen was founded in Kiev in 2008 and has mostly women university students as its members.

The group is known for staging topless protests in Ukraine and outside for all causes concerning women, from sex tourism to Silvio Berlusconi's peccadilloes.

SOUCRE: www.indiatoday.in

FEMEN Protest in NYC Occupy Wall Street

Yesterday, 17 November, the American branch of the women's movement FEMEN carried out an action on Wall Street in New York City in protest against the repressive power over activists Occupy Wall Street. American activist FEMEN appeared at the police cordoned the street at 9 o'clock in the morning and occupied the Wall Street to its topless protest. The girls, with placards in their hands and crowns on their heads, freedom, and demanded withdrawal of the American police in the line of the tent camp occupants. In response to demands FEMEN police attempted to arrest activists of movement.

The women's movement FEMEN, through its American activists, requires the City of New York, Mayor Bloomberg and the police take his hands away from the peaceful protesters and let them back in Zuccotti Park. FEMEN condemns expulsion of Protestant tenants from Central Park in New York and calls for international condemnation of acts of the city authorities and police need to condemn them for abuse, neglect constitutional rights, freedom of speech and protest.

FEMEN-USA condemns the brutal attitude the New York Police in relation to female occupants, many of which expelled from Zuccotti Park and arrested. Activists FEMEN-USA-known instances of ill-treatment of arrested women in police stations. On the streets of New York American FEMEN chanting "Hands off our sisters!"

Ukrainian Women's Rights Activists Stage Topless Protest Against Uefa [FEMEN]

Ukrainian women's rights activists have staged a [topfree] demonstration at Kiev's Olympic Stadium to protest what they say are attempts to legalise prostitution during the 2012 European Championship.

Five members of the Femen group chanted slogans and displayed banners criticising the tournament organiser, European football's governing body, Uefa.

A Femen spokeswoman, Inna Shevchenko, said Uefa was "trying to influence our government" to legalise prostitution during the tournament, which will take place in June and July next summer. Uefa will hold the draw for the finals in Kiev on Friday.

Kiev police arrived at the gates of the downtown stadium five minutes later and the women were dragged into a police vehicle and driven away.

Click here to see pictures from the demonstration.

FEMEN - Main Website

Naked Ambition: Ukrainian Topless Protests Go Global [FEMEN]

A naked woman in a city's central square is bound to attract attention, which is exactly what Ukraine’s Femen group is hoping for with a series of high-profile demonstrations against the abuse of women's rights which has made the news across Europe.

And as [iNAKED] found out, the Ukrainian feminists are ready to conquer new horizons.

On a chilly morning in Kiev, half-naked women in racing outfits drink champagne and chant slogans. This is how the Femen movement celebrated the resignation of Silvio Berlusconi. Several days prior to that, Femen were in Rome, lending their support for the anti-Berlusconi protests.

Activist Aleksandra Shevchenko states, “We had staged a lot of protests against Berlusconi and his sexual adventures here in Kiev. And we are really happy his political career has finished."

“But we came to the Italian embassy not only to celebrate, but to say that he needs to go on trial for his sexual crimes,” Femen member Inna Shevchenko added.

For more than a week, Ukraine’s topless protesters have been making themselves heard across Europe on a road trip dedicated to drawing attention to the sexual exploitation of women.

While in Rome, one of their activists even made a revealing protest against injustice towards women in the Catholic Church at the Vatican, right in front of the Pope. Before that, they hit Paris, storming the residence of former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn.

“Women from Italy came to us in Switzerland and said: ‘We know that you’re coming to Rome and will be staging protests against Berlusconi and the Pope. Thank you,’ they said, ‘for sharing our problems,’” Alexandra Shevchenko continued.

Their wild bra-free rallies in Ukraine have been making international headlines for several years, from protesting against the alarming rate of prostitution, especially with the upcoming Euro 2012 football tournament, to exposing flaws in Ukraine’s politics. Now they are looking even further afield.

“We understood that classic feminism no longer works,” Inna Shevchenko said. “It is, if you excuse me, impotent. But what we do brings the desired effect. That’s why not only Ukraine needs us, but Europe as well. We are planning to take over the world.”

The Femen movement has been well-received at home in Ukraine and in Europe, and now its members are planning to extend their reach even further.

“We receive lots of letters telling us to continue fighting religious injustice towards women, especially in Muslim states. That’s where we want to develop,” Alexandra Shevchenko told RT. “We are even ready to go to Iran or any other Islamic state to stage our topless protests, knowing all risks it could entail for us.”

In Ukraine alone, Femen has garnered tens of thousands of supporters. The network has taken root in Europe and now stretches as far as the United States. But with sex-tourism, prostitution, and the ‘mail-order bride’ industry still plaguing Ukrainian society, Femen say they still have a lot demons to fight at home.

FEMEN Protest In NYC Occupy Wall Street

Yesterday, 17 November, the American branch of the women's movement FEMEN carried out an action on Wall Street in New York City in protest against the repressive power over activists Occupy Wall Street. American activist FEMEN appeared at the police cordoned the street at 9 o'clock in the morning and occupied the Wall Street to its topless protest. The girls, with placards in their hands and crowns on their heads, freedom, and demanded withdrawal of the American police in the line of the tent camp occupants. In response to demands FEMEN police attempted to arrest activists of movement.

The women's movement FEMEN, through its American activists, requires the City of New York, Mayor Bloomberg and the police take his hands away from the peaceful protesters and let them back in Zuccotti Park. FEMEN condemns expulsion of Protestant tenants from Central Park in New York and calls for international condemnation of acts of the city authorities and police need to condemn them for abuse, neglect constitutional rights, freedom of speech and protest.

FEMEN-USA condemns the brutal attitude the New York Police in relation to female occupants, many of which expelled from Zuccotti Park and arrested. Activists FEMEN-USA-known instances of ill-treatment of arrested women in police stations. On the streets of New York American FEMEN chanting "Hands off our sisters!"

See pictures of the protest here.

FEMEN - Main Website

Breast Cancer Survivors’ Body Painting Art Censored By Facebook [Topfreedom]

Facebook continues its moral crusade against the human nipple. Ukrainian top-free feminists FEMEN (who have faced their share of Facebook bannination) made me aware of the latest administrator crackdown on an art and advocacy project called the Breast Cancer Awareness Body Painting Project (BCABPP).

Calling themselves “An all Breast Cancer Survivor project for awareness, fundraising, inspiration and healing worldwide” they use nude body painting and photography to help survivors express how they feel about what the disease has done to their bodies. But while Facebook generally gives an exception to nudity (which in America means exposed female nipples, bums and/or genitals) in paintings and other “art”, it does not except non-sexual nudity that has been painted...

Read the whole story @ Osocio