Friday, August 1, 2014

Turkish Politician Says Women Shouldn’t Laugh In Public—Emma Watson Disagrees



So, this week in worldwide sexism, there’s a Turkish politician who thinks women shouldn’t be laughing in public. Which is why Emma Watson is joining women in Turkey by laughing her heart out in defiance.



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As Buzzfeed points out, Bülent Arınç, the deputy Prime Minister of Turkey, seems to think that something as simple and carefree as a public chuckle could bring the confines of chastity crumbling down.


“Chastity is so important. It’s not just a word, it’s an ornament [for women],” Arinç told a crowd in Bursa during a speech that commemorated the end of Ramadan. “A woman should be chaste. She should know the difference between public and private. She should not laugh in public.”


According to Arınç’s speech, it’s things like women laughing in public that are contributing to increased moral corruption. Excuse me, what? Women in Turkey—and around the world—are using the hashtags #direnkahkaha (resist laughter) and #direnkadin (resist woman) to share photos of themselves laughing on Twitter.




Luckily, these topics began to trend, because it isn’t just Turkish women who are rebelling against Arınç’s sexist nonsense, but outspoken women’s rights advocates like Emma, who was recently named as a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations:


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