Laurence Dollimore
A WOMEN’S rights campaigner has been fined for ‘offending religion’ after parading a huge vagina through the streets during a Women’s Day march in Malaga in 2013.
The woman was convicted this week of ‘a crime against religious sentiments’ by the Criminal Court of Malaga and will have to pay €10 per day for the next nine months, reported Diario Sur.
The controversial trial first began in 2017 when the protestor was denounced by the Association of Christian Lawyers, which acted as a private prosecutor, seeking a 12-month prison sentence for the accused.
The group said the woman’s actions were designed to inspire ‘discrimination, hatred and violence’ against the church.
The judge rejected this argument and refused to consider a jail sentence.
On March 8, eight years ago, the accused marched with the female genitalia in what was dubbed the Procession of the Holy Chumino Rebelde – mocking the processions of religious brotherhoods seen during Semana Santa (Holy Week).
The stunt formed part of several protests throughout the Women’s Day march in the city.
In her statement to the court, the woman said it was a ‘performative act of protest’ and that she did not intend to offend religious feelings.
“I don’t see how it can be offensive,” she said, “it can be rude, but not offensive.”
In the sentence, the judge said the vagina, designed to look like the Virgin Mary, and the performance effectively mocked the Holy Week celebrations and was enough to be considered an offense.
The magistrate said political or historical criticism is protected by freedom of expression, but that ‘mockery and humiliation are punished.’
