The Ukrainian feminist movement Femen, best known for its topless protests, is opening its first international training camp in Paris. New recruits are expected to start classes this month - learning how to apply warpaint and jump, run and fight against exploitation. It is downtime for a group of young feminists, veterans of in-your-face manifestos. Sunlight slants into the first-story loft where they prepare signs for future battles. Signs with slogans like "Muslim Women: Let's Get Naked!" Inna Shevchenko, 22, is painting slogans on a black punching bag. She's a long way from her native Ukraine. But in Paris and Kiev, she says, women share a common cause. "We are fighting against the same thing, for the same reason; we are fighting against patriarchy, all manifestations of it - church, religion, sex industry and dictatorship," she said. Shevchenko is in Paris to open the first international office of Femen - the Ukrainian feminist group whose topless protests capture headlines and rile the establishment. Actually, make that a boot camp to train new battalions of Femen soldiers. And yes, that means physical workouts. "We run, because we need to run straight to our enemy," Shevchenko said. "We jump because we protest in really difficult locations, on the top of cars or buildings." Shevchenko knows how to cut crosses. That's why she fled Ukraine last August, after demonstrating in support of jailed Russian feminist punk band Pussy Riot. |