Femen France

A FEMEN France protester, 2012

FEMEN France is the French branch of FEMEN (Ukrainian: Фемен), a feminist protest group founded in Ukraine in 2008 and famous for organizing topless protests.[1] In October 2013 FEMEN had its largest membership in France.[1] As of early January 2013, the organization consisted of 30 local activists.[2] The only Ukrainians regularly present were Oksana Shachko and Inna Shevchenko.[2] On March 6, 2013, FEMEN activists, together with French writer Galia Ackerman, released their first book, FEMEN. The book was published by Calmann-Lévy.

Origins

See also: FEMEN

On 17 August 2012, following the conviction and sentencing in Moscow (Russia) of Pussy Riot, core FEMEN member Inna Shevchenko used a chainsaw to cut down a five-meter Christian cross near Maidan Nezalezhnosti in Kiev. A criminal case was opened against FEMEN charging them with hooliganism. After the incident, Inna Shevchenko left the country and went to Paris to set up a French-based FEMEN training center for activists.

The international training center opened on 18 September 2012. 15 activists marched topless from the metro station Château Rouge to the Lavoir Moderne Parisien, where their new headquarters are located, and organized a press conference there.[3]

Actions

On 3 October 2012, French activists protested against rape by standing topless in front of the Venus de Milo statue in the Louvre Museum. The FEMEN activists shouted, “We have hands to stop rape”. They stated they chose the Venus de Milo because it has no arms, arguing this best symbolizes a woman’s helplessness and vulnerability. This protest followed an incident in Tunisia where a woman faced charges of indecency after claiming she was raped by police officers.[4]

On 15 October 2012, 8 topless activists protested in front of the French Ministry of Justice at the Place Vendôme in Paris in response to the verdict in the trial of fourteen men for the gang rape of teenage girls.[5] After a four-week trial in Fontenay-sous-Bois near Paris, four of the accused were found guilty of taking part in gang rapes, but 10 were acquitted.[6] The sentences were far lighter than those recommended by the state prosecutor, who had called for prison sentences of five to seven years for eight of the men. The protestors accused the French authorities of tolerating the rape of minors.[5]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Fearless … and topless: Femen activists to bring 'sextremism' to the UK, theguardian.com (19 October 2013)
  2. 1 2 Femen in Paris: Ukraine's Topless Warriors Move West, The Atlantic (2 January 2013)
  3. ↑ "Naked March in Paris to Open New Office of Femen Feminist Group - SPIEGEL ONLINE". Spiegel.de. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
  4. ↑ "Topless at the Louvre: FEMEN activists stage anti-rape protest — RT". Rt.com. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
  5. 1 2 "Topless FEMEN Activists Attempt French Justice Ministry Break-In". Avaxnews.com. 2012-10-16. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
  6. ↑ Angelique Chrisafis in Paris (11 October 2012). "Four guilty in gang-rape trial that shocked France | World news | guardian.co.uk". London: Guardian. Retrieved 2012-11-19.

External links

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