Olga Misik: The new icon of defiance
From the unknown 'Tank Man' of Tiananmen Square protest to Alaa Salah in Sudan, brave protesters have always been the icon of hope. Olga Misik from Russia has joined this illustrious list.
Olga Misik's defiance against oppression
The photo of a 17-year-old girl reading the Russian constitution in front of riot police has emerged as yet another powerful symbol of defiance against oppression.
Surrounded by a posse of policemen equipped with shields, batons and helmets, Olga Misik read portions from the Russian constitution which talked about the right to peaceful gatherings.
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(Photograph:Others)
Moscow's political upheaval
The photograph, which emerged earlier this week, has gone viral in the wake of protests in Moscow denouncing the exclusion of some opposition and independent candidates from the Moscow city council election ballot.
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(Photograph:Others)
Face of protest, Alaa Salah
Misik has joined the league of other iconic figures like Alaa Salah, a 22-year-old architecture student from Khartoum, who emerged as the face of protest in Sudan calling for the ouster of the country's longtime president Omar al-Bashir. Bashir was finally overthrown by the country's military in April this year.
(Photograph:AFP)
Icon of peace, Malala Yousafzai
Among these prestigious names is that of Malala Yousafzai from Pakistan was shot by the Taliban in 2012 when she was 15 for speaking up for girls' education and peace. She not only recovered from the attack but became a global icon promoting peace and fighting for girls' rights across the world. She won the Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts in 2014.
(Photograph:AFP)
Tiananmen Square protest
All of these personalities have shown courage and determination to fight for the cause, the seeds of which seem to have sown by this man - the 'Tank Man' of Tiananmen Square protest. The unidentified Chinese man was photographed standing in front of a column of a tank on June 5, 1989, a day after the Chinese military suppressed the Tiananmen Square protests by force.
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(Photograph:Others)