7 People Who Took The Act of Protest To A Whole New Level

In an attempt to influence public’s opinion or government Policy etc, people have been coming up with quirky ways of putting their point for war u d. Some have succeeded in bringing about the desired change while others have failed. Here is a list of 7 people who took protest To a whole new next level

1. Alice Newstead

To protest the decline of sharks by more than 80 percent in the last decade, brought about by the commercial and sports fishing every year. Alice Newstead, an artist & activist wanted to do something to make people take notice of how the sharks are slowly becoming extinct. For some reason, she decided to accomplish this by painting her body silver (depicting a shark), piercing her back with big fish hook and hoisting herself into the air with the help of those hooks.

Following this she hung from the ceiling of a Paris boutique for an agonizing 15 minutes.

2. Sheikh Eissa

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In 2009, a 25-year-old Egyptian named Sheikh Eissa chopped his penis off in protest  against his parents’ choice of bride for him.

Apparently, he was in love with a woman and wanted to marry her but his parents rejected his love and ordered him to marry another woman. Unable to convince his parents to let him do his wish, he sliced his penis in protest. On discovering Eissa in his room covered with blood he was rushed to the hospital where his condition got stable.

However the doctors were unable to reattach his severed testicles.

3. John Joseph Foley


One of the most bizarre protests happened at Goodison Park, England in February 2012.

Just before half-time in a match between Everton and Manchester City, John Foley ran onto the pitch and handcuffed himself to a goalpost&nbspin protest of his daughter’s sudden termination from ryanair (an airline company) during a shift, leaving her stranded abroad with no money and no way to get home.

Apparently he chose to do it in the stadium because he learnt that the boss of the company his daughter was terminated from ‘Michael O’Leary’ was in the crowd.

Foley was later banned from entering the stadium for three years.

4. Imed Ghanmi

Imed Ghanmi

43-year-old Tunisian Imed Ghanmi passed away after setting himself ablaze at a police station in protest against police brutality and unemployment.

The doctoral student,  until August 2015 was an instructor at the National Institute of Applied Science and Technology (INSAT) in Tunis. However, his contract was not renewed. So He was forced to sell black market goods to cover his family’s needs. So when he had his wares and motor scooter seized by the police on July 5, he became frustrated and set himself ablaze.

His action was followed by weeks of increasingly violent protests across Tunisia over unemployment, corruption and high food prices which resulted in the resignation of the the President “Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali”.

5. Stephen Reid Sq


To protest a proposed Psychoactive Substances bill which would criminalise the sale and supply of any mood-altering drug not specifically excluded from existing drugs legislation, dozens of demonstrators led by Stephen Reid Sq’s Psychedelic Society of London simultaneously inhaled nitrous oxide through a balloon outside London’s House of Parliament.

Stephen Reid, founder and director of the society, said the point of the protest was to show that nitrous oxide, as well as many other drugs, could be enjoyed safely.

6. Julia Javel

De Milo statue Louvre Museum
Click to view graphic image

Following an incident that happened in Tunisia where a woman faced charges of indecency after claiming she was raped by police officers. French activists Julia Javelin alongside her Freinds  Éloïse Bouton, Elvira Duvelle-Charles, Miyabi K, Jenny Bah, Nathalie Vignes and Inna Shevchenko (all members of femen) on 3 October 2012, protested in France bystanding topless in front of the Venus de Milo statue in the Louvre Museum while shouting “We have hands to stop rape”.

According to them they had chosen the Venus de Milo because it depicts the helplessness and vulnerability of a woman due to its lack of arms.

7. Patrick Abbazia

Connecticut eighth grader Patrick Albania attended class one day wrapped in duct tape to protest his School’s “no touching” policy. Which was Prompted  by an incident in which a student required medical attention after being kicked in the groin.

He had a friend tape his torso at the shoulders and elbows while he was waiting for the school bus, and kept the tape on until fourth period.

Uzonna Anele
Uzonna Anele
Anele is a web developer and a Pan-Africanist who believes bad leadership is the only thing keeping Africa from taking its rightful place in the modern world.

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