Tunisia: FEMEN supporters for "topless jihad" arrested
- 11 years ago
Three feminist protesters baring their breasts in support of "topless jihad" activist Amina Tyler were taken away by police in Tunis on Wednesday for protesting against Tyler's arrest. The 19-year-old Tunisian feminist has been charged for carrying out "provocative acts" and faces up to two years imprisonment for attempting to stage a topless protest in the city of Kairouan, for a pepper spray charge and for writing the word FEMEN on a wall near a mosque.
Standing outside Tunis' main court, the two French women and one German protesting against Tyler's arrest shouted "Free Amina" before being ushered away by authorities, with police officers covering the protesters' bodies. Clashes between a journalist and a lawyer of the court also took place. Compared to European police reactions to FEMEN protests, where they will physically touch the protesters to stop them from demonstrating, the Tunisian police restrained themselves from touching the women's bodies as much as possible.
Tyler hit the headlines in March for baring her breasts online, depicting writing stating "my body is my own." The protesters in Tunis had planned to stage a protest opposing the Tunisian Interior Ministry's decision to charge the activist, who had spent months in hiding until she was found and arrested by Tunisian authorities May 19. She awaits trial on Thursday.
Tunisia, with Islam as the official state religion of the country, is predominantly ultra-conservative. Public indecency is punishable under Tunisian law, with a spokesperson for Tunisia's Ministry of Interior saying Tyler's behavior is "against the morals and traditions of Tunisian society, which is a Muslim society."
The feminist organisation FEMEN, famous for topless protests around the globe, responded to the arrest of Tyler with contempt and has demanded for her immediate release: "The reaction of the Tunisian authorities is a gross political repression in response to her anti-Islamist feminist actions against the 'Shariatization' of Maghreb."
Standing outside Tunis' main court, the two French women and one German protesting against Tyler's arrest shouted "Free Amina" before being ushered away by authorities, with police officers covering the protesters' bodies. Clashes between a journalist and a lawyer of the court also took place. Compared to European police reactions to FEMEN protests, where they will physically touch the protesters to stop them from demonstrating, the Tunisian police restrained themselves from touching the women's bodies as much as possible.
Tyler hit the headlines in March for baring her breasts online, depicting writing stating "my body is my own." The protesters in Tunis had planned to stage a protest opposing the Tunisian Interior Ministry's decision to charge the activist, who had spent months in hiding until she was found and arrested by Tunisian authorities May 19. She awaits trial on Thursday.
Tunisia, with Islam as the official state religion of the country, is predominantly ultra-conservative. Public indecency is punishable under Tunisian law, with a spokesperson for Tunisia's Ministry of Interior saying Tyler's behavior is "against the morals and traditions of Tunisian society, which is a Muslim society."
The feminist organisation FEMEN, famous for topless protests around the globe, responded to the arrest of Tyler with contempt and has demanded for her immediate release: "The reaction of the Tunisian authorities is a gross political repression in response to her anti-Islamist feminist actions against the 'Shariatization' of Maghreb."