Tag: Turkey

German Court Upholds Ban Against Anti-Erdogan Poem

A German court has bizarrely upheld a ban that prevents German comic Jan Boehmermann from reciting or republishing a poem that he wrote criticizing Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan. According to the BBC, it was the numerous sexual references that the court found unacceptable.

I frequently see people argue for the United States to abandon its expansive First Amendment protections and instead adopt a more European approach to speech (especially with regards to so-called “hate speech.”) What could possibly go wrong?

Or, alternately, if saying Erdogan is a goat-fucker is wrong, I don’t wanna be right.

This English translation of the poem has been floating around the Internet, but I could not track it down to the original source. Many thanks to the translator.

 

Defamation Poem, by Jan Böhmermann

Stupid as fuck, cowardly and uptight,
Is Erdogan, the president,
His gob smells of bad döner,
Even a pig’s fart smells better,
He’s the man who hits girls,
While wearing a rubber mask,
But goat-fucking he likes the best,
And having minorities repressed,

Kicking Kurds,
Beating Christians,
While watching kiddie porn,
And even at night, instead of sleep,
It’s time for fellatio with a hundred sheep,

Yep, Erdogan is definitely
The president with a tiny dick,
Every Turk will tell you all,
The stupid fool has wrinkly balls,
From Ankara to Istanbul,
They all know the man is gay,
Perverted, louse-infested, a zoophile,
Recep Fritzl Priklopil

Head as empty as his balls,
Of every gang-bang party he’s the star,
Till his cock burns when he has a piss,
That’s Recep Erdogan,
The Turkish president.

Turkey Ends Virginity Tests

In February, Turkey formally eliminated a law that allowed school officials to conduct physical exams on female students to ensure they were still virgins.

The law allowed schools to expel girls who engaged in pre-marital sex, and gave them the authority to conduct physical exams of girls as young as 14 suspected of having sex.

It had not been applied since 1999, however, when a judge ordered a halt to the virginity tests unless required for a criminal inquiry. Unfortunately this judicial decision only came after a horrible tragedy — five girls tried to killed themselves rather than undergo the virginity tests.

Source:

Turkey scraps virginity tests. The BBC, February 28, 2002.

Some Women Get Expanded Rights in Turkey

On January 1, 2002, far reaching revisions to Turkey’s civil code went into effect that go a long way toward recognizing men and women as equals. Unfortunately, many women’s groups in Turkey do not feel the changes go far enough, and in fact there is a serious deficiency in the revision.

On the positive side, the revisions essentially end the supreme position that men enjoyed when it came to domestic matters. All property in marriage is now jointly owned by husband and wife. A woman will no longer need her husband’s permission to work outside the home, and women are now able to sue for divorce if their husband commits adultery, as well as have a right to property and potentially alimony after a divorce.

Unfortunately, the law is not retroactive, meaning that it only applies to newly married couples. The 17 million already-married Turkish women will not have the right, for example, to ask for alimony or half of the property owned by the couple, which makes this a rather bittersweet victory.

Sources:

Turkish women score victory for equality. The BBC, November 24, 2001.

Turkish women get equal rights. The BBC, January 1, 2002.