July 23, 2018, was an unfortunate day for women rights activists around the world. Ukrainian activist Oksana Shachko, known as one of the co-founders of the FEMEN feminist protest movement, was found dead at her Paris based apartment. Police also found a suicide note next to her body.

The 31-year old activist was born in the small town of Khmelnytskyi in Ukraine and spent most of her life in the country’s capital, Kiev. Since 2013, she had taken asylum in France and was living in the country’s capital, Paris.

Oksana Shachko made it in the headlines for the first time in 2008 when her feminist activist group, FEMEN, organized protests against sex tourism and atrocities against women in Ukraine. Shachko left the group in 2013, perhaps, due to legal proceedings that most of the group members were facing. She was working as a painter after leaving activism.

“FEMEN's protests highlighted the exploitation of Ukrainian women”

Besides rampant prostitution, there are several other problems that the country is facing.

Due to the war-like situation in eastern Ukraine's Donbas (between the pro-Russian and anti-government outfits) the country often remains in the news. But still, men from western nations visit Ukraine to find their bride. Men from these countries easily manage to convince girls from low-income families to marry them.

Women end up marrying older men to escape poverty, exploitation, and war in Ukraine. Several marriage agencies help western men to find their bride in Ukraine.

“What was Oksana Shachko fighting against?”

Girls turn to prostitution due to poverty, unemployment, and lack of education. The Ukrainian Government and politicians ignore prostitution rackets due to the substantial income that they generate.

At one point, the country was known as a destination to find beautiful, cheap sex dolls. But, FEMEN's protests changed it all. After the group’s formation in 2008, its members organized several demonstrations during which its members stood nude with messages written on various parts of their body. Activists from the outfit, including co-founders Oksana Shachko, Alexandra Shevchenko, Inna Shevchenko, and Yana Zhdanova, never hesitated to come out on streets in support of rape victims while in Ukraine.

Many politicians and activists criticize the group for their nude protests. However, the group members believe that a woman's nudity is not meant to entertain men or to satisfy them sexually. It can also be used for highlighting the plight that women face.

The world started noticing the group’s initiatives since November 2011 when its member Aleksandra Shevchenko visited Italy and protested against Vatican's anti-feminist policies at the Vatican’s St. Peter’s Square.

Ukrainian human traffickers looked at the Euro 2012 soccer tournament as an opportunity to make money by forcing young girls into prostitution for incoming tourists. To attract the world media’s attention towards the problem, the FEMEN group members removed their clothes and tried to damage the Euro 2012 soccer trophy while it was at a public display in Lviv, Ukraine during May 2012. When journalists approached the activists to know the reason behind their action, they pointed out how the Euro 2012 soccer tournament promoted Ukraine as a sex tourist destination.

Then, in August 2012, during the London Olympics event, the group members organized protests against the Sharia law which is practiced in some of the Islamic countries that participated in the Olympic Games.

FEMEN once again made it in the international headlines in April 2013. The group’s co-founder, Shevchenko, stripped in front of Russian President Vladimir Putin during his visit to Hanover Fair, Germany and criticized him for acting against Pussy Riot women rights activists. She also raised slogans and abused Russian Orthodox Bishop Kirill who is said to be close to Putin.

Due to FEMEN protests, the number of tourists visiting Ukraine in search of prostitutes has reduced considerably. Even the United Nations Human Rights Commission started opening its ears and eyes to look at the plight faced by Ukrainian women.

“Oksana Shachko will always be remembered for her bravery”

Women are the most critical pillar for any given society. Every woman at least deserves to be respected, if not worshiped. Even God won’t be able to deny that life begins inside a woman’s womb. She empowers her husband as a wife, empowers kids as a mother, and supports brother(s) as an elder sister, yet, most of the male-dominated societies fail to offer equal opportunities in jobs, education, and politics to women. It’s sad to see that politicians in some countries are more worried about ‘losing tourism revenue’ rather than bringing strict laws to deal with crime against women.

When anyone dares to speak against powerful politicians, groups, religious leaders or the government, he or she has to face severe consequences.

Several FEMEN members, including its founders, have been beaten-up and mass molested in the past. All of them face multiple cases even today. Shachko was also kidnapped by Ukraine security forces and thrashed severely in 2011 and 2013. This attack probably forced her to accept asylum in France and leave activism.

The reasons behind Oksana Shachko’s death/suicide are not apparent as of now. But she will always remain a hero for Ukrainian women.