My Breasts Are My Best Weapon

Femen is a group of Ukrainian activists founded in Kiev in 2008 that uses nudity as a tool of protest against sens tourism and human trafficking, and in defense of abortion rights. Their most recent action was an attempt to steal the Euro trophy on display in Kiev's Independence Square.

The **Femen** group was born in **Kiev** in **2008**. It is made up mostly of women in their twenties, and their slogan is "Ukraine is not a brothel and its women are not whores." They describe themselves as potentially dangerous and do not hesitate to take off their clothes to draw attention to what they denounce. Their most recent action was an attempt to steal the Euro trophy that was on display in Kiev's Independence Square. According to the organization, the fact that the football tournament is being held in Poland and Ukraine will help fuel sens tourism in both countries.

## Prostitution, HIV and human trafficking in Ukraine

The French newspaper **Le Monde** reported that, according to the latest report by the French NGO **Alliance contre le VIH/SIDA**, Ukraine is the European country with the highest rate of HIV-positive people: **1.1%** of the population carries the bicho. In Kiev, **24%** of prostitutes are infected. In **Donetsk**, the country's second most populous city, the figure reaches almost **38%**.

The activists maintain that politicians ignore the problem because it does not suit them. One of their best-known members, **Inna Shevchenko**, said by phone that they represent all those women who come from villages to Kiev, deceived by some mafia that tells them they will work in hotels as cleaners when in reality they will be forced into prostitution on the streets.

Shevchenko is **22 years old** and studies journalism. She is very tall, almost **1.80**, with long platinum blonde hair. She does not hesitate to wear a flower crown, a national symbol of Ukrainian women, and to show off a large tattoo on the left side of her torso every time she strips. "I know men look at me on the street, I'm gorgeous and I know it. I seek to attract attention, and that's what it's all about," she says. She makes it clear that a Ukrainian woman's body sells, and sells a lot, but she warns: "Let no one be confused, I'm not just a femme fatale but a topless warrior." That term was coined by the organization as their banner.

## How they organize before each action

Not all the activists live in Kiev. Some live in other cities such as **Lviv**, in the east of the country. They coordinate with two mobile phones and a computer to prepare their next strike. Depending on where an event takes place, those who are closest gather hours beforehand to paint their breasts in the colors of the Ukrainian flag, blue and yellow, and to write protest slogans on their torsos with a brush and black paint.

When they are ready, they show up at the event, ceremony or party, blend in among the crowd and, at the least expected moment, take off their underwear before the astonished gazes of politicians, police officers or passers-by. The goal is achieved: five minutes after their show they are already trending topics.

Femen has become a headache for Ukrainian police officers because they always appear at the most inconvenient moments. They have burst in while former Ukrainian president **Viktor Yushchenko** was testifying, stripped down just meters away from **Vladimir Pilingui** during the Russian elections, chained themselves to the gates of the Russian gas giant **Gazprom**, protested when the new all-male Ukrainian government was sworn in, and climbed the bell tower of **Saint Sophia**, one of Ukraine's most important churches.

## The price of protesting in a place of worship

That last action, against the bill accepted by the Ukrainian parliament that would ban abortion in the country in the coming months, has earned them a incivil case peine by their country's authorities for demonstrating illegally in a place of worship. The sentence they face is **five years** in prison.

"Ukraine is a socially conservative and very religious country. That's why the sudden appearance of a nude, not controlled by Ukrainian patriarchal society, makes men nervous," declares, laughing, another of the militants, **Tatyana Zacerkovnaya**, a **22-year-old** painter.

Publicly criticized by the political class and the Orthodox Church, and parodied by the country's comedians, for the younger generations they are revolutionaries. "They fight against prostitution and against any tyranny that subjugates women," is one of the thousands of comments written by their nearly **5,000** Twitter and Facebook fans on the organization's official pages.

Media success has led Femen to mobilize beyond Ukraine's borders. They have spread their demands against sensual violence in **Bulgaria**, **Turkey** and **Brazil**, and have even traveled to the **Vatican** to ask **Pope Benedict XVI** to speak out publicly in favor of women's rights. "We are not second-class beings, nor pieces of meat. We are women fighting for our independence and our rights," concludes Inna Shevchenko.

This article is about activism and rights and does not constitute legal or health advice. For any matter related to health or a judicial process, consult a professional.