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A protest against Brazil's ban on topless sunbathing fell flat yesterday, with only a handful of women turning up.

Thousands of women were expected to gather on Rio de Janeiro's Ipanema beach, taking off their bikinis in defiance of Brazilian law, which describes female toplessness as an "obscene act".

Hundreds of photographers filled Ipanema beach, eager to catch a glimpse of the first women to strip in defiance of the law - but only a few women joined in.

One of the first to strip off was 73 year-old Rio native Olga Salon.

She told local media "A breast isn't dangerous! It's false-Puritanism and indicative of our macho culture that we have a law forbidding that women can go topless."

The anti-nudity law, which dates back to the 1940s, is punishable by up to a year in prison, or fines.

Locals admit the law does not frequently lead to prosecutions.

The protest was organised in response to an incident in November when actress Cristina Flores was stopped by police during a half-naked photoshoot on the beach.

The photoshoot was part of the promotional campaign for Cosmocartas, a play about Brazilian artists Lygia Clark and Hélio Oiticica.