The rise of the naked female warriors
Year in a Belarus jail, but they allege that they were, instead, abducted by secret service agents — a claim the Belarusian KGB denies.
Shevchenko says a group of men caught up with them at the bus station and they were driven for five hours into a forest. There, she claims, they were covered in oil, threatened with lighters and knives, and ordered to strip completely. She assumed they were going to be raped. “They put handcuffs on us and we were sitting like this,” she leans forward with her hands behind her back, “for six or seven hours, not allowed to move or talk. One guy kept repeating that we were going to be killed, but before that they were going to have fun.
“They said: ‘ Breathe, enjoy the air, because there is only one hour left of your life. Imagine the smile of your mother, and now imagine her face when she gets your dead body.’ ”
Shevchenko felt sure they would be killed and started analysing her years with Femen. “I knew this was the best part of my life and something I would never feel sorry about, even in a situation when I could be killed, and it was the greatest answer for me. It was one of the worst days of my life but also the best, because I understood myself.”
The three women were eventually dumped in the snow, and she says the incident made her more determined than ever. “I suddenly saw the huge potential of this. Maybe it’s strange to say this — I know some people already think we’re kamikaze — but that ’ s why I now say I’m more of an activist than a person, because I know that tomorrow I could be killed.”
Femen wants the movement to spread globally and they try to support women who start offshoots in their own countries. They now have about 200 activists worldwide — a small number, but able to make a major impact — with branches in Switzerland, Poland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Brazil, the US, Canada and Italy. An activist in Tunisia recently posted a topless image of herself online and two days ago it was reported that a fatwa had been issued, calling for her to be stoned to death.
Femen are not subtle, they are not inoffensive and they certainly are not sorry.
“We ’ re provocateurs,” says Shevchenko, “and the reaction depends on those who are provoked.” With members having faced the loss of livelihood, alleged abduction, arrest, jail, death threats and ridicule, it seems they are in it for keeps.
“One of our slogans is: ‘ Fight until the last drop of blood,’ ” says Alexandra, and Shevchenko notes that every morning she wakes up to death threats, sent by SMS, that simply say “die”, or “burn”. When she sees them she thinks “Good morning!” she says, laughing long and hard. — © The Guardian, London