No Sharia law
Iranian Communist activists protest against hijab (YouTube)

Female members of the Iranian Communist Party and the Organisation Against Violence on Women have staged a Femen-style topless protests against traditional Islamic headscarf hijab in Stockholm, according to local reports.

Days before International Women's Day, the activists bared their breasts and protested with slogans "My nudity is my protest" and "No hijab" painted on their chests and backs. They also held posters from past Femen demonstrations. In a video of the protest, a masked woman could be heard singing "No to Sharia law", "No to religion, just freedom, just equality", "Hijab is not my choice" and "Down with the Islamic Republic of Iran".

Last month, three topless members of the Femen radical feminist group attempted to jump on Italy's former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi as he arrived at a polling station in Milan to vote in the Italian general election on Sunday 24 February.

The young activists, who had the message "Basta Berlusconi" ("Enough with Berlusconi") written on their backs, were quickly held and dragged away by police. Law enforcement officials struggled to cover the women with their jackets as ordinary people queued to vote.

Last month, in response to news that Pope Benedict XVI was to quit as head of the Catholic Church, nine Ukrainian members of the feminist group stripped to their knickers and bared their breasts in Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris, stunning bystanders.