Inna Shevchenko
Biography
Inna Shevchenko (*1990) is a Ukrainian activist and one of the leading figures in the FEMEN protest movement, in which she has been active since 2009.
She gained international attention as a feminist pioneer in 2012 by cutting down a wooden cross in Kyiv in solidarity with the Russian band Pussy Riot and staging topless protests against patriarchal violence and religious oppression, such as in a live interview with the TV channel Al Jazeera. Due to political persecution, she has been living in France since 2013, where she founded FEMEN France and continues her activist work.
In the Austrian-Swiss documentary film Girls & Gods by Arash T. Riahi and Verena Soltiz, Inna Shevchenko explores the relationship between feminism and faith, as well as the institution of the church as an instrument of power. The film also fascinated cinema audiences in Austria.
