April 4, International Topless Jihad Day

L

et’s Breast Them
by Maryam Namazie

The 19 year old Tunisian Amina who posted a topless photo of herself with the slogan “my body belongs to me, and is not the source of anyone’s honour” has disappeared. Most likely her family have kidnapped her and taken her to an unknown location, (earlier reports mentioned a psychiatric hospital). What’s clear is that they have removed all forms of communication from her so that she can no longer be reached.

Filmmaker Caroline Fourest says:One of the people who kidnapped Amina has been boasting that they did it for “her own good”. It is unclear though whether she has been hospitalised  or held somewhere else. Her phone has been taken from her and communication with her has stopped so  we are no longer in contact with her.

We anxiously await news about her safety and situation and warn those who are holding her not to hurt her and to release her immediately.

There is nothing wrong with Amina; it is society, the lack of women’s rights, the second class citizenship of women, the debased view of women’s bodies, the vile concept of honour and religious morality,  misogyny and Islamism and its Sharia law that are wrong.

In fact Amina’s is the voice of sanity, reason, protest and resistance.

She represents us all and we will not stop until she is safe and free.

Release Amina, and prosecute those who have threatened and kidnapped her.

April 4 is the international day to defend Amina. On this day, “Let’s Breast Them!”

On 4 April and beyond, groups and individuals can join in by highlighting her case, posting topless photos of themselves and their activism on social media sites, signing a petition, Tweeting #Amina, writing letters in her defence, and more.

The petition now has nearly 25,000 signatures; let’s make it 50,000 in the next few days.

Here are some actions that have already taken place:

Kiki Brill from Norway made a badge for Amina.

Women have started posting topless photos: 

source:


Amina represents us!

19 year old Tunisian Amina who posted a topless photo of herself bearing the slogan “my body belongs to me, and is not the source of anyone’s honour” has been threatened with death.

Islamist cleric Adel Almi, president of Al-Jamia Al-Li-Wassatia Tawia Wal-Islah, has called for Amina’s flogging and stoning to death saying Amina’s actions will bring misfortune by causing “epidemics and disasters” and “could be contagious and give ideas to other women…”

We, the undersigned, unequivocally defend Amina, and demand that her life and liberty be protected and that those who have threatened her be immediately prosecuted.

On 4 April 2013, we call for an International Day to Defend Amina.

Amina represents us all.

On the day and beyond, groups and individuals can join in by highlighting her case, posting topless photos of themselves and their activism on social media sites, signing a petition, Tweeting #Amina, writing letters in her defence, and more.

On 4 April, we will remind the Islamists and the world that the real epidemic and disaster that must be challenged is misogyny – Islamic or otherwise.

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Exiled Iranian women pose nude in video protest against sexual oppression on International Women's Day

A group of Iranian women have stripped off for a new video in a protest against sexual oppression in their native country.
The ladies, who are living in exile in Europe, pose naked in front of the camera as they each deliver a defiant message.
Their slogans include 'I believe in the equality of women and men' and 'my thoughts, my body, my choice'.
Scroll down for the video

Defiant: One of the exiled Iranian ladies poses naked for a video calling for more sexual freedoms for women in her native country

Show of strength: The video has been produced to support a nude calendar, which has been released to mark International Women's Day
They have produced the video in the hope of boosting sales of the Nude Photo Revolutionary Calendar, which has been released today to coincide with International Women's Day.
The calendar has been dedicated to an Egyptian activist who posted a full-length photo of herself on her blog last year in a stand against sexual discrimination in Islam.

Exposed: British mother turned Manhattan madam poses naked with third husband as friends back home reveal she boasted of 'building an empire'
The move by 20-year-old university student, Aliaa Magda Elmahdy, sparked outrage in the Middle East and she was bombarded by thousands of insults, with some denouncing her as a 'prostitute'.

Call for freedom: Each of the women is accompanied in the film by a defiant slogan expressing their support for more women's rights

Perennial backing: The video hopes to boost sales of the Nude Photo Revolutionaries Calendar (left and right) which was launched today in homage to an Egyptian activist who was vilified in the Middle East for publishing a naked photo of herself
But Maryam Namazie, who produced the calendar, said nudity was an important weapon in the fight against oppression.
'Islamism and the religious right are obsessed with women's bodies,' she told The International Business Times.
'They demand that we be veiled, bound, and gagged. In the face of this assault, nudity breaks taboos and is an important form of resistance.'


Ostracised: The Iranian women are showing their support for Aliaa Magda Elmahdy (left), who sparked outrage in the Midle East after posting this nude picture of herself on her blog, and Golshifteh Farahani (right), an actress who has been banished from Iran because she posed for this picture in a French news magazine
The film and the calendar also show support for Golshifteh Farahani, an actress who has been banished from her home country of Iran because she posed nude in a French news magazine.
The 28-year-old, who has starred alongside Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe, says she was contacted by the Iranian government, which told her not to return home.
The offending photo - a black-and-white 'art shot' featuring the 28-year-old Farahani posing against a black backdrop with her hands strategically placed over her breasts - was first published in Madame Le Figaro.
WARNING: Contains nudity

WARNING: Contains nudity