- Title: LEBANON: Lebanese strip down to stand up for Olympic skier, women's rights
- Date: 13th February 2014
- Summary: BEIRUT, LEBANON (FEBRUARY 12, 2014) (REUTERS) INTERIOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY STUDIO WHERE LEBANESE SUPPORTERS OF SKIER JACKIE CHAMOUN ARE POSING PHOTO FRAMES ON THE WALL ACTIVIST FROM THE CAMPAIGN TO SUPPORT CHAMOUN WORKING ON UPLOADING PICTURES TO SOCIAL MEDIA WEBSITE FACEBOOK
- Embargoed: 28th February 2014 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Lebanon
- Country: Lebanon
- Topics: General,Politics,Sports
- Reuters ID: LVA4YR5ZTBOF3IFR055GS7XVZUHP
- Story Text: Lebanese are baring it all on social media to protest the condemnation of Lebanon's Olympic skier Jackie Chamoun, whose topless photo shoot has sparked debate about freedom of expression and women's rights in this Middle Eastern country.
The online campaign posts the pictures of dozens of men and women showing some skin as they hold strategically placed posters labeled with the hashtag #stripforjackie.
Some participants said they were baffled by the public outrage sparked by the pictures of 21-year-old Chamoun, which are over a year old, in a country being rocked by sectarian bombings and political instability.
Even more expressed anger over the amount of attention given to Chamoun's photos - and the titillating social media protest it set off - in comparison to women's rights, such as protection from domestic abuse, for which there is little legal recourse.
Last week, Manal Assi, 33, was the second death in the past year from such violence. Her husband bludgeoned to death with a pressure cooker in front of their children. Police allegedly refused to step in to a domestic dispute.
Photographer Tarek Muqadam joined activists to offer free naked portraits at a studio in Beirut for the #stripforjackie campaign.
"It is a small step for all the other people to try and change what is currently happening. Lebanon used to be known for its freedoms but for the past three four years there has been a lot of censorship on movies, galleries and a lot of attention to such issues while at the same time there are women who are being brutalized and women who are undergoing scrutiny which shows lesser respect for them and at a time when there are bombings and lack of security, and all they are focusing on are a few years old photos being published in magazines or whatever," he said.
Chamoun's half-nude photos prompted caretaker Youth and Sports minister to call for an inquiry "as quickly as possible" into an issue he said hurt Lebanon's reputation on the world stage.
Critics say the demand for urgent action is ironic in a country so politically deadlocked that it has been unable to form a government for over 10 months.
The group of activists and artists taking portrait at a studio in Beirut post the pictures online with a tagline underneath that reads, "I am not naked". Their aim was to promote freedom of expression and choice, they said.
Lebanon, often described as a playground of the Middle East, is more open than many politically and socially conservative neighbours. But activists here say censorship is on the rise, and women's issues have long been neglected.
Since activists launched the campaign on Wednesday (February 13), their "I am not Naked" Facebook page has garned more than 13,000 "likes".
The photo trend has also caught on, with many young Lebanese taking pictures on their own and posting them to the page.
Some local celebrities, including one of the members of the popular band Mashrou Leila, have also stripped down to show their support for the Olympic athlete.
Even companies have joined in. The popular local beer AlMaza posted a photo of its green-bottled beer without a label.
Volkswagen posted a picture of a convertible with the slogan "Taking our top off since 1949."
Some women who joined the photo shoot had much more personal reasons for joining, such as 22-year-old sommelier student Sandra, who said she was a friend of Chamoun.
"Lebanon is very contradictory, so you never really understand why now, why later, why before, but always find something to judge. They find a little negativity in a notion of positivity and then they try to pull you down instead of helping you being someone good and she is someone good," she said.
Another Chamoun supporter said she is glad the issue is out in the open now because it shows how much support among Lebanese issues like freedom of choice and expression have in Lebanon.
"It is actually going to help a lot for being okay with it," Laeitia Haddad said.
"Being okay with having rights as a women. We are in the 21st century it is actually kind of time that it actually happened. It is time that it was huge mess and it is a big controversy. I think it is a good thing, I really think it is a good thing. Because it is opening people's eyes on the subject and it is making them feel okay we are not alone, there are more people that actually think like us, that want things to be more open."
The original photo of Chamoun was featured in a 2013 ski-calendar. The young skier appears standing in pink underpants on a snowy summit of Lebanon's Faraya ski resort, holding a ski to cover her breasts.
But local news channels unearthed a 'making of' video that showed her completely topless and called it a scandal. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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