The Suicide of a Woman Who Protested Against the 'Deteriorating World' by Going Naked

The lifeless body of Oksana Shachko, one of the founders of the women's rights movement known as Femen, was found in her apartment in Paris. Anna Hatzel, another early member of Femen, confirmed this news in an interview with the Ukrainian section of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty on Tuesday, stating that she and other Femen members are mourning a friend and companion who she described as 'a heroic woman in contemporary history.' Ms. Hatzel mentioned that Oksana had been extremely worried lately that 'the state of the world is deteriorating.' The Femen group also announced in a statement on its official website that while mourning the loss of Oksana Shachko with friends and acquaintances, they will await the police report. According to this announcement, Oksana's body was found on Monday in her apartment in Paris along with a note indicating her decision to commit suicide. The Femen movement was established ten years ago in 2008 in Kyiv, Ukraine, and its members have protested against issues such as sex tourism, homophobia, and religious institutions in various parts of Europe by going semi-nude to attract attention. They notably used this form of protest in 1989 in front of the Iranian embassy in Ukraine in support of Sakineh Mohammadi, an Iranian woman sentenced to stoning, and later in 1994 in Paris during Hassan Rouhani's visit to protest executions in the Islamic Republic.