Tunisia frees three Europeans jailed for topless feminist protest

[alp227]

Source: reuters

A Tunisian court on Wednesday decided to release three European feminist activists who staged a topless protest in Tunis last month against the Islamist-led government.

The release of the three women -- one German and two French members the women's rights group, Femen -- could ease the anger of the European Union, Tunisia's main economic ally.

They were sentenced to four months in jail for indecency earlier this month after their May 29 protest to call for the release of fellow activist Tunisian Amina Tyler.

Tyler, 18, remains in custody, awaiting trial. She was arrested in Kairouan on May 19 after she hung a feminist banner from the wall of a mosque and tried to bare her breasts, on the same day that the Islamist Ansar al-Sharia group held a rally in the city that authorities tried to ban.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/27/us-tunisia-feminists-idUSBRE95P1MH20130627

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Hmm..."Occupy Gone Wild"?

[RC]

1. What's indecent, even obscene, is the treatment of the women in many parts of the world.

[dipsydoodle]

2. Article doesn't mention the other one, Amina, who defaced the cemetery wall

which is the wall of the Great Mosque of Kairouan - a world heritage site. I'm not sure Germany would've mentioned freedom expression had this been a Jewish cemetery.

Aside from that this is worth reading :

"Femen is a company, not a social movement", says former leader of the group in Brazil.

After being removed from the group, Sara decided to counter-attack and made several critics to the Ukrainian leaders. "Femen Ukraine works as a company or a marketing agency. It is not a social movement. They may have had real good intentions in the past, but nowadays it is entirely corrupted."

Sara confirmed an accusation made last year by the former activist of Femen Brazil Bruna Themis. In an interview Bruna said that one of the reasons why she left the group was the demand from the Ukrainian headquarters that the activists should not be overweight. At the time, Sara denied the accusation. Now, she took back and explained that Femen "always want beautiful activists in the front line for marketing strategy."

According to Sara, &quot Femen's) attitude is extremely chauvinist and reinforces patriarchal society." Femen Ukraine says this is a way of attracting people to feminism.

A recently disclosed internet chat between Sara and Inna Shevchenko (Ukrainian leader) shows Inna was worried about the physical shape of the activists. &quot The protest) in the embassy was not sexy because the panties were too tight and the girls appeared to be fat. Be aware of that", warned the Ukrainian to the Brazilian.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/110818719

[happyslug]

11. I looked her up, there is something strange going on.

Amina Tyler is the woman's name. Amina is an Arabic name meaning, truthful, trustworthy and honest. It is the 24th most popular name for girls in Tunsia:
http://www.studentsoftheworld.info/penpals/stats.php3?Pays=TUN

On the other hand, Tyler is an ENGLISH name. An ancestor may be an Englishman, or the family adopted it due to reforms that permitted a change in surnames.


http://www.everyculture.com/To-Z/Tunisia.html

http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/tunisia-country-profile.html

http://www.tunisia-live.net/2011/12/29/changing-family-names-in-post-independence-tunisia/


Now, traditional Arab Culture was, if you were male, you last name was your father's first name. Thus a father's sons would have all the same last names, but they would be different from their fathers. Thus Saddam Hussein's son was Qusay Saddam (Sometime the grandfather's name was added as an additional last name, thus you read about Qusay Saddam Hussein).

The same rule applied to women, but it was their father's I.e. the same as their brothers). When they married, their retained they name, but their children borne the name of their husband's and his father.

The French, when they took over control of Tunisa in the 1830s seems to have stopped this and force everyone to have proper sur names like good Frenchmen, Thus your last name was the same as your fathers. This complicates the situation, for why dies she have an English Last Name? Her family may have adopted it for it was short name that they knew was rare in Tunisia, but that most people knew how to pronounced given the widespread adoption of Television and the domination of US shows on those Televisions.

My problem with her and the whole Femen movement is, what is the intention? What do you really want? They claim more respect for women from religion, but then come up with how that is suppose to be done. Thus it appears to be more a protest group without a goal except "Woman's rights" without defining what that means. Vague titles and goals are good slogans, but sooner or later you have to state WHAT you actually want. Being left alone is a goal, but how is that being achieved by showing your breasts at a mosque? Why go to a protest of Radical Muslims and bare your breasts? How is that going to achieve your goal (unless your goal is your personal ego)?

http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2013/05/21/Amina-Tyler-Tunisia-s-topless-jihad-activist-under-arrest.html

Just a comment, something is strange here. Femen is strange in itself for it appears to protest for vague goals and once people start to ask for details, they find none and leave.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FEMEN
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/apr/11/femen-nudity-racist-colonial-feminism
http://mondediplo.com/blogs/the-fast-food-feminism-of-the-topless-femen

[JI7]

12. her real last name is Sboui

Tyler was just a pseudonym for things like internet postings.

[jessie04]

3. These people look very dangerous.

And those shoes are ALL wrong for the outfits.

[idwiyo]

14. FEMEN members are blond, skinny, and have big boobies. Someone on DU said so. That pic must be fake!

PS.

[Sand Wind]

4. Ennahdha put pressure on them so they ask forgiveness.

That will repudiate their position.

Sad, but Tunisia is not enough liberal for that kind of protest. People of This country just don't understand this kind of activism.

[jessie04]

5. Well, its time they move into the 21st century.

nt

[pampango]

6. Yes it is but imagine the difficulties North Koreans will have one day when the Kim dynasty falls

and they have to "move into the 21st century." How fast will that happen?

[jessie04]

7. Its easier..

for someone in the 17th century to go into the 21st century than the other way around.

[pampango]

8. Agreed but it is a huge adjustment that will take time. Our republicans are stuck in the 1950's

and look at how much trouble they have moving into the 21st century.

[jessie04]

10. Lol..what do you mean " OUR" ??

not mine.

lol

[Sand Wind]

9. It will be better, but not so easy to do quickly,

Family is different there, and the economic difficulties make it harder to change society and familial structure.

[idwiyo]

13. K&R

[jessie04]

15. And here's how they were manhandled.

very unnecessary.