Topless activists disrupt Muslim meet on women
As clerics in France debate whether it’s OK to beat wives, Femen protesters storm stage, remove coverings to reveal feminist slogans on bodies
Two activists from the Femen group, known for its protests by bare-chested women with slogans on their torsos, were arrested at a Muslim conference near Paris on Saturday.
The controversial gathering, in the Muslim Salon at Pontoise, was devoted to the role of women in Islam, and the two protesters stormed on stage when two preachers were discussing whether it was permitted for wives to be beaten or not, according to The Telegraph.
Previously the two women were in the audience wearing traditional Muslim clothes covering their whole bodies.
When the clerics were debating the question, they ripped off their cloaks and jumped on stage. According to Telegraph, one had the text “Personne ne me soumet” (No one subjugates me) written on her body, while another had “Je suis mon proper prophète” (I am my own prophet.)
The paper further reported that the two, aged 25 and 31, grabbed microphones and shouted feminist slogans in French and in Arabic, before some 15 men grabbed them and removed them from the stage. They were turned in to the police. A video of the incident shows a man apparently kicking one of them.
https://www.facebook.com/FEMEN.International.Official/photos/a.788986181126401.1073741828.788934241131595/1049846068373743/?type=1&permPage=1
According to Inna Shevchenko, a spokeswoman for the group, some of the men shouted “dirty whores” and “kill them.” Shevchenko told the Telegraph that she thanked the police for protecting the two women, who were taken into custody.
The women were questioned by prosecutors and promptly released. Police said they would continue to investigate. Organizers said they would sue the activists.
While the Femen activists physically disrupted the event, it was subject of controversy before it began. Nearly 6,000 people signed an online petition against the event, according to the Telegraph.
A speaker at the conference has reportedly posted calls on social networks for women to cover their faces or risk hellfire and sexual assault in the afterlife.
After the protest, some Twitter posts called for the Femen women to be stoned or collectively raped.
