Emma Watson Laughs In The Face of Turkish Politician’s Sexism

Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc sparked outrage earlier this week when he addressed a crowd celebrating the end of Ramadan and then launched into a lament about the erosion of traditional values. The politician noted that “A woman should be chaste. She should know the difference between public and private. She should not laugh in public.”

Public backlash was swift, and it seems Arinc has even annoyed Hermione with his comments. On Thursday, Emma Watson joined the online protest — where women have been defiantly tweeting and posting photos of themselves laughing — by sharing a photo of herself doubled over. And on the street, no less!

The Harry Potter star and newly named Goodwill Ambassador for UN Women is just one of thousands of women who have been protesting the politician’s remarks and even included the hashtage #direnkahkaha, which translates to “resist laughter.” Enough people have joined in on the backlash against Arinc’s remarks that both the hashtags ‎#direnkahkaha and #direnkadin (“resist woman”) have become trending topics on Twitter.

So far, more than 16,000 people have retweeted Watson’s photo.