Oksana Shachko facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Oxana Shachko
Оксана Шачко |
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| Born | 31 January 1987 Khmelnytskyi, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
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| Died | 23 July 2018 (aged 31) Paris, France
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| Other names | Oksana Shachko Oksana Chatchko |
| Occupation | Artist, activist |
| Years active | 2008–2018 |
Oksana Shachko (Ukrainian: Оксана Шачко; 31 January 1987 – 23 July 2018) was a Ukrainian artist and activist. She was one of the people who started the radical feminist group Femen. This group is known for its public protests in many countries. They protest against different issues, especially those affecting women.
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Early Life and Education
Oksana Chatchko was born in Khmelnytsky, a city in western Ukraine. Her family was Orthodox Christian. Her parents worked in a factory. When the Soviet Union ended, the factories closed. This meant her parents lost their jobs during a difficult time for the country.
In 1995, when Oksana was 8, she joined the Nikosh school. This school was known for teaching iconography, which is the art of painting religious images called icons. She finished this school, and her early paintings were shown in Ukraine and the United States. At age twelve, she started painting frescoes (wall paintings) full-time in Orthodox churches. She even thought about becoming a nun, but her family convinced her not to.
Later, at 14, she decided to leave the Orthodox Church and became an atheist. She felt that some priests acted more like business people than religious leaders. However, she kept painting to earn money.
In 2000, she began studying philosophy at the free university of Khmelnytsky. This made her think deeply about life and society. She felt that women did not have enough chances to share their ideas and creativity. With other students, she started an organization called "Center for New Perspectives." This group worked to fight against corruption and for student rights. Here, she met Anna Hutsol and Aleksandra Shevchenko. She later said that this experience helped her develop her strong beliefs about politics and philosophy. It made her want to fight for women's rights and freedom of speech.
Activism with Femen
In 2008, Oksana Shachko, along with Anna Hutsol and Alexandra Shevchenko, started the feminist group FEMEN. At first, the group protested about problems affecting women students. Over time, FEMEN began to protest about wider women's rights and civil rights issues in Ukraine and around the world.
FEMEN members, including Oksana, were often detained by authorities. One serious event happened in 2011. A group of activists protested for political prisoners in Minsk, the capital of Belarus. Oksana and two other women were taken by the Belarusian KGB. They faced serious threats and danger from the authorities.
Oksana Shachko worked with French writer Galia Ackerman. Together, they created a history of FEMEN, which was published in 2013. In 2014, a documentary film about Oksana, called Je suis Femen (I am Femen), was released. It was made by filmmaker Alain Margot and won awards.
In 2013, France gave Oksana political refugee status. This happened after she faced challenges from security forces connected to Vladimir Putin. FEMEN had protested against him and other political groups like the French Front National. Oksana then lived in Paris and worked as a painter.
Artworks
Before she passed away, Oksana Shachko focused on her art series called Iconoclast. She painted traditional Orthodox icons. But she added new details to these icons to share messages about women's rights, politics, and human values. Her first solo art show was in Paris in May 2016.
Death
Oksana Shachko died in Paris, France, on 23 July 2018. She was 31 years old.
Selected Filmography
- Je suis Femen (I'm Femen), a documentary film (1 hour 35 minutes). It was written and directed by Alain Margot, and produced by Caravel Production (Switzerland) and Luminor Films Distribution (France), 2014.
- Everyday Rebellion, a documentary film (1 hour 58 minutes). It was written and directed by the Riahi Brothers Arash T. Riahi and Arman Riahi, from Austria, Switzerland, and Germany, 2013.
Music
- La Lumière est Noire (The Light is Black), by Alain Margot (from Je suis Femen), Chiara Darbellay, Mathieu Schneider, (2019).
See also
In Spanish: Oksana Shachko para niños
