AKIPRESS.COM - A gay rights and women's rights activist in Kazakhstan has been fined for taking part in a provocative photoshoot that she says was aimed at raising awareness about a taboo subject in Kazakhstan -- menstruation, RFE/RL reports.

A court in Almaty ruled on August 20 that activist Zhanar Sekerbaeva was guilty on hooliganism charges in connection with the controversial photo shoot. She was ordered her to pay a fine of 12,000 Kazakh tenges, or about $35.

Sekerbaeva, a member of the Kazakhstan-based gay rights and women's rights group Feminita, took part in the August 9 photo shoot on the streets of Almaty -- holding up a drawing of a woman menstruating over a group of traditional nomadic houses known as yurts.

Amnesty International had urged Kazakh authorities on August 16 to "immediately end proceedings" against Sekerbaeva.