One Ukrainian protester gets in front of St. Peter's Basilica before guards stopped her

Nov 7, 2011 09:04 GMT  ·  By

FEMEN protesters usually do their unique kind of protesting in their home country, Ukraine. Call this one the one that got away: a blonde woman with the group stripped in Vatican, in front of the St. Peter's Basilica.

Hailing from Ukraine, FEMEN members are students aged 18-20 who use their bodies as a way of attracting attention on various social ills; that is to say, they protest topless.

One member of the organization somehow managed to go past security and take off the see-through top she had on, thus exposing her breasts to the crowd, while holding up a “Freedom for Women!” sign, News.com informs.

The incident took place right after the Pope's Sunday Angelus and played out in front of a huge crowd, since the woman didn't agree to go quietly with the guards.

“The blonde activist, initially wearing tight jeans and a see-through black tulle top, struck provocative poses against the dramatic backdrop of the basilica and the papal apartments,” News.com says.

“Legs splayed, she brandished a black placard demanding 'Freedom for Women' and then took her top off,” says the report.

“Italian police eventually subdued the topless activist, who was still kicking and screaming as they dragged her away from the papal enclave under the bewildered gaze of faithful and tourists,” adds the same media outlet.

A video of the chaos that ensued when guards tried to remove the woman from the scene is below, embedded at the end of the article.

Reports in the media say that she was trying to protest against the intolerant views on women of the Pope.

The day before, other women pulled the same stunt a few blocks away, protesting against the Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, a known womanizer who is now accused of having relations with a minor.

For those not familiar with the feminist group, suffice it to say that FEMEN aims to draw attention on serious issues by using the rather unconventional approach of putting protesters in a crowd, sans shirts.

It was founded in 2008 and includes about 20 topless members and about 300 who never take their clothes off.