Alexandra Shevchenko

Alexandra Shevchenko Олександра Шевченко
Alexandra Shevchenko - Paris 31 Mar 2012
Born	(1988-04-24) April 24, 1988 (age 28) Khmelnytskyi, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
Occupation	Feminist Activist
Movement	FEMEN

Alexandra Shevchenko (Ukrainian: Олександра Шевченко; (literally) Olexandra Shevchenko) is a high-profile founder member of the Ukrainian feminist protest group FEMEN, which regularly makes headline news across the world for demonstrating topless against all manifestations of patriarchy, especially dictatorship, religion, and the sex industry.

Shevchenko was born and grew up in Khmelnytskyi (in Ukraine).

Anna Hutsol formed FEMEN in Kiev on 10 April 2008, with her two friends from their hometown of Khmelnytskyi, Shevchenko and Oksana Shachko. They initially protested about issues effecting women students, but rapidly moved on to demonstrating against the sexual exploitation of Ukrainian women. It was in late August 2009 that Oksana Shachko became the first member of the group to bare her breasts during a protest, but it was not until 2010 that this approach became the usual tactic in FEMEN demonstrations, justified on the grounds that without the media attention generated by topless protests their message would not be heard.

In 2011 international news agencies started to pay more attention to this unusual group of Feminist protesters,

In late 2011 Shevchenko, along with Inna Shevchenko and Jenia Kraizman, took their protest onto the international stage. On 31 October 2011 they demonstrated dressed as French maids in Paris against Dominique Strauss-Kahn, on 5 November 2011 they protested against Silvio Berlusconi in Rome, the following day they protested against the Pope outside St. Peters, and on 10 November protested against prostitution in Zurich. On 9 December 2011 Shevchenko was in Moscow demonstrating against Vladimir Putin outside Christ the Saviour Cathedral.