Acts of civil disobedience
London-news
In many places it is illegal to criticise the government. Those who produced illegal newspapers in Norway during WWII risked the death penalty.
Nudist protest, San Francisco
From 2012 it became illegal to be naked outside in San Francisco. Since then an annual naked parade has been held to lift the ban.
The salt march
Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948) organised passive resistence against British rule in India. He was imprisoned multiple times, many years in total. Gandhi was a strong inspiration for non-violent movements the world over.
Rosa Parks Gets Fingerprinted
Mrs Rosa Parks, a black seamstress, being fingerprinted after her refusal to move to the back of a bus to accommodate a white passenger touched off the bus boycott, Montgomery, Alabama, 1956. (Photo by Underwood Archives/Getty Images)
Shrouded by Natur og ungdom
To cover a facade can be an act of civil disobedience. The party headquarters of Ventres was clad by Nature and Youth group. Photo: Nature and Youth
Poster removal, WWII
During WWII in Norway it was illegal to tear down the fascist party’s propaganda posters.
Suffragette Charlotte Despard
Through the centuries there have been many demonstrations for the right to vote.
Svartlamon painted
Art as civil disobedience: Håkon Bleken and Håkon Gullvåg painted on one of the buildings in danger of being demolished in Svartlamon in Trondheim. In 1998 the area was protected.
Printing press
The resistance group Milorg in Vennesla used this stencil machine to make illegal pamphlets during the war. Owner: ARKIVET peace and human rights centre
Warning about red caps
During WWII you risked arrest if you wore a red cap or a paper clip on your jacket. They were seen as symbols of protest against the regime.
Nelson Mandela's cell
Nelson Mandela (1918-2013) spent more than 27 years in prison for his resistance against the apartheid regime in South-Africa.
Student group The White Rose
The student group The White Rose from Munich wrote pamphlets criticising Nazism. In 1943 three central members of the group were sentenced to death and executed.
MyStealthyFreedom hashtag
In Iran a woman can be punished for choosing to not cover her hair in public. Protest on social media. #MyStealthyFreedom and #WhiteWednesdays campaign.
Sylvi Listhaug painting
Is this civil disobedience or vandalism? The street artist AFK painted Lylvi Listhaug being crucified, calling it "Making a martyr"
Martin Luther King jr.
The American priest Martin Luther King jr. (1929-1968) led several nonviolent protests against racial discrimination. In 1964 he received the Nobel Peace Prize. Four years later he was assassinated in Memphis. The place is a museum today.
Umbrella Movement, Hong Kong
The Umbrella Movement protested for democracy in Hong Kong in 2014. The activists used umbrellas to protect themselves against the police’s pepper spray and tear gas. In April 2019 nine of the leaders were given prison sentences.
Activist Julia Butterfly Hill
The American environmental activist Julia Butterfly Hill (b. 1974) lived for 738 days in a 55-meter-tall and 1500 year old Redwood tree. She did this to prevent it from being logged.
Abortion protests, Seoul, 2019
In the spring of 2019 South-Korea is about to reform its strict abortion law. Photos from the many demonstrations for and against the reform, Seoul, 11. April, 2019.
Vigdis Rojahn julekort
Drawing as civil disobedience: During the war the Norwegian illustrator Vigdis Rojahn was taken in for questioning after drawing this Christmas card. The card was banned.
The Arab Spring
The Arab spring in 2010-2011 challenged authoritarian regimes in North-Africa and the Middle East, demanding
democratic rights
Extra tax in Surnadal
Civil Disobedience in Surnadal In 1763 the King issued a very unpopular extra tax. Every person over 12 was to pay 1 riksdaler, the poor the same as the rich. Many people protested, the most successful in Surnadal in Nordmøre. That year everyone in the parish refused to pay the tax. The tax collectors therefore went from farm to farm, collecting valuables. An auction was held, but no one turned up to bid. The extra tax was removed.
