Shirtless men & women protest in Ontario

Lahore: Hundreds of people, topless women among them, have taken part in a rally organized by three sisters who were allegedly stopped by police in Canada for cycling topless a week ago. Women in Ontario have had the right to go topless in public since 1996.

According to the international media, Musician Alysha Brilla (a Juno-nominated singer/songwriter of Indo-Tanzanian-Canadian origin) said she and her two sisters, Tameera and Nadia, were shirtless when riding their bikes in Kitchener on July 24. A male police officer drove up beside them and allegedly told them to cover up “because it is the law.”

RT.com reported that Brilla told the cop he was mistaken, and when she started filming the interaction on her cell phone, the officer reportedly backed off, saying he had only wanted to check whether the three women had proper bells and lights on their bikes.

The event’s organizers have invited “people of all genders” to their march, “revealing as much or as little of their torso as they feel comfortable.” In a bid to encourage those who feel shy while naked, they said the rally was a “celebration of all body shapes and types.” The main challenge, they said, was “to show support for desexualizing women’s breasts.”