I read the article titled ‘Topless activist tries to snatch Jesus statue from Vatican Nativity scene’ (December 26).

The woman, identified as Alisa Vinogradova, who is allied with the feminist organisation ‘Femen’, made a spectacle of herself by rushing half nude outside St Peter’s Basilica, at the Vatican, to try to grab a statue of baby Jesus.

Her stated ‘cause’ was “a complete victory over patriarchy”.

She was doing an illegal, plus an illogical, act. For a robust young woman running half naked in the midst of a thick crowd of bystanders, flaunting her breasts for both titillation and the hope of news coverage because of it, shows that she was nearly promoting the sexist eyes of patriarchal men. Instead of empowering women, she was cultivating the stereotype of women as ‘sex objects’.

The ‘Femen’ group, based in the Ukraine, has done many publicity stunts before but its members seem to not grasp that their actions make them look immature, almost as if their group name should be ‘Hymen’ instead of ‘Femen’.

They are free to express their opinions but they should use their brainpower instead of flashing skin.