By Larbi Arbaoui
Morocco World News
Taroudant, Morocco, April 11, 2013
Women's rights activists across the Arab world are “not satisfied” with topless demonstrations in Europe by a Ukrainian feminist group expressing solidarity with Amina Tyler, a Tunisian woman who posted her naked photos on facebook, to protest against what it calls religious oppression.
The photos of Amina sparked a controversial debate even among feminist activists.
Most of the Arab women activists expressed their dissatisfaction with the means by which FEMEN seeks to make their voice heard.
While supporting Tyler's freedom of expression, Imen Triqui of the Tunisian Association of Liberty and Equality, said that this phenomenon is foreign to Arab societies.
"All organizations and all ideological currents are unanimous that this phenomenon is foreign to our society," Imen Triqui was quoted by the Associated Press as saying.
Jenan Mubarak, of Iraq's Center for Women's Rehabilitation and Employment, endorsed Amina's right to protest, but argued that topless demonstrations were counterproductive to promoting women's rights.
Shatha al-Janabi, an Iraqi writer and feminist, shared the same view.
"Every woman has the right to express what is inside her. Women have genuine demands, particularly Arab women, because the patriarchy is so, so strong," she said.
"But there are many ways to demand equality in a Middle Eastern society. Nudity isn't acceptable here," she added.
Moroccan pro-democracy activist Zineb Belmkaddem maintained that using a woman's naked body to change policy is simply bad for women.
"Exposing the woman's body ... reinforces the image that objectifies women actually, no matter how FEMEN would like to think that the action frees them somehow," she said.
"I tell FEMEN call me when exposing your breasts gets you to break the glass ceiling. And if it does, then it's probably for the wrong reasons," she added.
On April 4th, a so-called feminist group burned a Salafist flag in front of the Grand Mosque of Paris, a move that was not endorsed by the Tunisia FEMEN Amina Tyler. This was “a step too far” she was quoted by AP as saying.
"I am against that," she told French TV Canal+ on Saturday as reported by (AP). "They didn't insult a certain kind of Muslim, the extremists, but all Muslims."