Iranian Women Stage Topless Protest in Sweden [Video]

Borrowing a page from FEMEN’s playbook, female Iranian activists staged a topless protest in Sweden Saturday.

According to Russia Today, members of the Iranian Communist Party and the Organization Against Violence on Women in Iran shed their tops in a demonstration against hijabs – the traditional headscarf worn by many women in predominantly Muslim countries.

The activists, who organized the rally on Facebook, protested in Stockholm — the country’s capital — days before International Women’s Day, which is celebrated annually on March 8.

During the protest, the partially nude women bore painted slogans, such as “My nudity is my protest” and “No to hijab,” on their chests and backs and held posters from past FEMEN demonstrations. In video footage of the protest, a masked woman chanted “Hijab is not my choice” and “Down with Islamic Republic of Iran,” using a microphone to project her message.

FEMEN, the Ukrainian women’s group known for using nudity in its demonstrations, posted photos of the Iranian women’s topless protest on its website in a show of solidarity. The Ukranian activists have spoken out against Islamist regimes in the past, telling Muslim women to “get naked” during a September demonstation in Paris.

Read more at The Huffington Post