Thousands of women have taken to Twitter and other social networks to mock Turkey's deputy prime minister for his declaration that women should not laugh in public.
The deputy prime minister, Bülent Arınç, gave the speech that sparked the online backlash at an event Monday for Eid al-Fitr, the celebration marking the end of Ramadan. He condemned "moral corruption" in Turkey, and said people had abandoned their values and needed to discover the Quran again.
"Chastity is so important," he said, according to the Hurriyet Daily News. "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 [sinful] and not haram. She will not laugh in public. She will not be inviting in her attitudes and will protect her chasteness."
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Women took to Twitter in retaliation, using hashtags #kahkaha, meaning "laughter," and #direnkahkaha, meaning "resist laughter." According to Topsy, more than 35,000 #direnkahkaha tweets were sent since the speech on Monday.
Gülüyoruz, öyleyse varız yarın gelecek güzel günlerde. #direnkahkaha #direnkadin pic.twitter.com/p1EO2BsWGF— ezgi görgü (@ezgi_gorgu) July 29, 2014
Ha ha ha Still #lol @bulent_arinc #direnkahkaha #direnkadin #kahkaha #TurkishWomen pic.twitter.com/bte74AFPFk— SibelGul (@Sibellgul) July 30, 2014
Kâh gülerim kâh ağlarım kâh kahkaha atarım kime ne !!!!#direnkahkaha @enveraysever2 pic.twitter.com/fqyPASLQZb— Çağla Biçer (@cagla_bicer) July 28, 2014
#direnkahkaha Gülmek devrimci bir eylemdir :) pic.twitter.com/clgQnIFFkI— Berivan Canbolat (@BerivanCanbolat) July 28, 2014
The translation of the tweet above: Laughter is a revolutionary action.
As the protest caught on, women around the world expressed their solidarity using the hashtag, including Ukrainian activist group Femen.
Turkish women, resist, enjoy freedom, love your life and laugh, laugh, laugh.. #direnkahkaha #Turkey @FEMEN_Turkey pic.twitter.com/rYLhZ9joDz— inna shevchenko (@femeninna) July 30, 2014
#direnkahkaha We are with you girls! #kahkaha #Italy pic.twitter.com/0tFTCfHpKH— Vittoria Iacovella (@vittoriacovella) July 30, 2014
#direnkahkaha #direnkadin #SolidaridadConLasMujeresTurcas pic.twitter.com/c6sdOqgC8L— veronik' Ochoa (@veronika8a) July 30, 2014
Several public figures in Turkey have also tweeted support for the protest. According to a Reuters translation, opposition presidential candidate Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu tweeted, "Our country needs our women to laugh and to hear everyone's joyful laughter more than ever."
The BBC reported that TV pundit Fatih Portakal tweeted, "Oh God, let this be just a joke. If women can't laugh in public, then men should not cry in public" -- referencing Arınç's tendency to weep during Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's speeches.
Erdogan sparked a similar social media protest with remarks about abortion in 2012. However, despite his reputation as a hardline conservative, he maintains widespread support from young women in Turkey.