'Sexist' condom commercial during soccer game draws ire of FEMEN


A condom advertisement broadcasted during Wednesday's UEFA Champions League's Shakhtar Donetsk – Fenerbahçe match drew criticism from women's rights groups, primarily from FEMEN known for its distinctive protests."We are with you in Ukraine" the commercial banner of Durex read.FEMEN leader Inna Shevchenko criticized the banner in her Twitter account. "We are with u in Ukraine" Durex promotes sex-tourism for Turkish men on TV screens during football match," Shevchenko tweeted, while posting the screenshot of the banner. FEMEN's Turkey Twitter account also criticized the banner in a tweet. "Sexist condom ad by Durex promoting sex tourism in Ukraine: 'We're with you in Ukraine'," the group said. In their Facebook page, FEMEN Turkey posted a harsh statement criticizing Durex, accusing the brand of taking advantage of sex tourism in Ukraine and Turkish men's favor for that business."Sex-tourism in Ukraine is monster-business that destroys millions of economically and socially fragile female destinies and feeds the pockets of wealthy men. Sex-tourism in Ukraine, same as in all Eastern Europe, is a deadly disease spread by politicians and corporations where in the best patriarchal traditions men own women, using them ether for pleasure or for enrichment," the group said, calling its supporters to denounce the advertisement.FEMEN Turkey also added, "Statistically proven fact that Turkish men are one of the often visitors of Ukraine in search for sex-tourism doesn't seem to be strange after such a large promotion of sex-hunting in a poor and destabilized Ukraine where women are still forced to follow the gender roles of a wife or a prostitute."Sex workers from former Soviet countries have been an important social issue in Turkey since the end of Cold War. Over the last decade, due to the improvements in the Turkish economy as well as lifting visas with most former Soviet republics, organizing sex tours to such countries became a new trend.Ukraine, due to its geographical proximity to Turkey and better cultural and economic ties with Europe than the rest of the former Soviet republics, became one of the most preferred locations for such tours. This trend culminated reactions from women's rights groups in Ukraine including FEMEN. "Ukraine is not a brothel", as it was said in Thursday's statement, became a common slogan. Due to the unrest in Ukraine's eastern city of Donetsk, Wednesday's match was played in western city of Lviv. Over the past couple of years, Lviv, instead of regular destinations like Kiev or Odessa, became a new center of interest for sex tourism for Turkish men. Even nationwide newspapers or news websites in Turkey published falsified articles or photo galleries claiming that 85 percent of Lviv's population is women, some even arguing this ratio was a result of the massacres committed by Nazi Germany in World War II. Currently, three Turkish airliners have direct scheduled flights from Istanbul to Lviv, which is not common for a countrytarget="_blank"'>