Anna Hutsol
Ukrainian feminist
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Anna Hutsol[a 1] (Anna Vasylivna Hutsol;[1] born 16 October 1984[2]) is a Ukrainian activist and one of the founders of the radical feminist activist group FEMEN.
Anna Hutsol Ганна Гуцол | |
|---|---|
Hutsol in 2014 | |
| Born | 16 October 1984 |
| Occupation | Activist |
| Years active | 2008–present |
Biography
Hutsol was born in Russia but moved to Ukraine with her parents in 1991.[3][a 2] She is an economist[4] and a former assistant to singer Tina Karol.[5]
Hutsol founded FEMEN in 2008 after she became attuned to the sad stories of Ukrainian women duped by false promises from abroad:[6] "I set up FEMEN because I realised that there was a lack of women activists in our society; Ukraine is male-oriented and women take a passive role."[7] According to Hutsol the skills she acquired during her time with Tina Karol have helped FEMEN's "public relations".[5] FEMEN's main choice of action is topless demonstrations.[8] The group started protesting against prostitution in Ukraine[9][10] and broadened their agenda to women's rights and civil rights in Ukraine and around the world.[citation needed]
Hutsol wanted to seek representation for FEMEN in the Verkhovna Rada in January 2011;[11] but FEMEN did not take part in the October 2012 Ukrainian parliamentary election.[12][13]
On 16 November 2012 Hutsol was detained by the Federal Security Service (FSB) of the Russian Federation at Pulkovo Airport in Saint Petersburg as a person barred from entering Russia.[14][15] She was deported back to her point of departure Paris.[14]
Late August 2013 Shevchenko and several fellow FEMEN-members have fled out of Ukraine fearing for their lives and freedom.[16][17][18] Hutsol requested for asylum in Switzerland in 2013, but the authorities rejected her request on 27 March 2014.[19]
Filmography
- Nos seins, nos armes! (Our breasts, our weapons!), documentary film (Length: 1:10:00), written and directed by Caroline Fourest and Nadia El Fani, produced by Nilaya Productions, aired on France 2 on 5 March 2013.[20]
- Everyday Rebellion, documentary film (Length: 1:58:00), written and directed by the Riahi Brothers Arash T. Riahi and Arman Riahi, Austria / Switzerland / Germany, 2013, world premiere at Copenhagen International Documentary Festival on 13 November 2013.
- Ukraine Is Not a Brothel
- Je Suis Femen (I Am Femen), 2014, documentary film, written and directed by Alain Margot.[21]
See also
Notes
- Anna Hutsol uses the Russian version (for example on her Personal blog on Echo of Moscow) of her first name (Анна), rather than the Ukrainian version (Ганна; Hanna) and spells her name in English as 'Anna Hutsol' on her Facebook page
- Both Russia and Ukraine were part of the Soviet Union since 1920 till Ukraine declared its independence from the Soviet Union on 24 August 1991; Hutsol's parents moved to Ukraine at the end of 1991. (Sources: A History of Ukraine • The Land and Its Peoples, by Paul Robert Magocsi, University of Toronto Press, 2010, ISBN 1442610212 (pages 563/564 & 722/723) & Ackerman, Gail (2013), Femen (Calmann-Levy), pp 45, 46, ISBN 9782702144589.)