There has been some backlash in Turkey, mainly by women wanting to laugh in public. It’s all down to some rather crazy remarks actually made by the Turkish Deputy Prime Minister.
Monday marked the celebration of Eid al-Fitr, the end of Ramadan, where Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç made a speech about chastity.
That wasn’t even what had people concerned. It was more about the role of women laughing in public… or more so, how they shouldn’t:
“Chastity is so important. It is not only a name. It is an ornament for both women and men. [She] will have chasteness. Man will have it, too. He will not be a womanizer. He will be bound to his wife. He will love his children. [The woman] will know what is haram and not haram. She will not laugh in public. She will not be inviting in her attitudes and will protect her chasteness.”
Arınç later questions the values of women today, noting in the controversial speech:
“Where are our girls, who slightly blush, lower their heads and turn their eyes away when we look at their face, becoming the symbol of chastity?”
This could all be very disheartening, if Turkish women didn’t respond to the comments in the best way possible.
Twitter has been flooded with women tagging themselves laughing in the Prime Minister’s face. Under the hastag #kahkaha there are some pretty epic replies:
Ha ha start your day with a laughter. We #TurkishWomen are #lol to @bulent_arinc. #direnkahkaha #direnkadin #kahkaha pic.twitter.com/K1kt7fQfLU
— SibelGul (@Sibellgul) July 30, 2014
Arınç’a inat ünlüler Twitter’da kahkaha paylaştı. İşte o kahkahalar @Tuluhantekeli http://t.co/gwpaeaRV6n pic.twitter.com/3vM2svvX0Q
— Önder Yıldız (@ches54) July 29, 2014
#kahkaha #womenLaugh #freedom @aschytte @IngridRosland #Turkey #latter #latterlig pic.twitter.com/4OvLAeLsck
— Tanja Clifford (@TanjaClifford) July 30, 2014
With support from further afield:
#direnkahkaha We are with you girls! #kahkaha #Italy pic.twitter.com/0tFTCfHpKH
— Vittoria Iacovella (@vittoriacovella) July 30, 2014
Ladies, we salute you!
