Laughter a serious matter in Turkey
ISTANBUL: Hundreds of Turkish women posted pictures of themselves laughing on Twitter yesterday to protest against comments by Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc, who had urged women not to laugh in public to “protect moral values”.
Melda Onur, of the main opposition party, the CHP, said on Twitter that Arinc’s comments portrayed laughing as a dishonourable act and left women exposed to violence.
Opponents of Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s government accuse it of ruling in an authoritarian manner and meddling in people’s private lives, which has long been a source of conflict between the country’s secularists and Erdogan’s conservative supporters.
Erdogan is running to become the first directly elected president of Turkey, which is predominantly Muslim.
Arinc made the comments at a celebration of Eid-ul-Fitr, marking the end of Ramadaan.
“The woman should have chastity… She should not laugh in front of everyone and not be inviting in her behaviour. She should protect her honour,” he said.
One women’s organisation said it would file a criminal complaint against him.
Arinc’s comments, in which he also criticised soap operas for promoting decadence, drew criticism from opposition presidential candidate Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, who tweeted: “Our country needs our women to laugh and to hear everyone’s joyful laughter more than ever.” – Reuters