Turkish women have taken to Twitter to post photos of themselves laughing and smiling as a sign of protest against a Turkish top official's statement that women should refrain from laughing out loud in public.

During an Eid el-Fitr meeting on Monday, the Turkish Deputy Prime Minister, Bülent Arınç, stated that women should refrain from laughing loudly and preserve decency at all times.

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According to him, a woman should refrain from laughing loudly "in front of all the world" in order to uphold decency, as he condemned moral regression brought about by modernization.

He appealed for chastity among both genders and blamed the media for influencing youngsters to become 'sex addicts.'

Arınç is a member of the reigning Justice and Development Party (AKP) led by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Described by the Guardian as a 'pious Muslim', Arınç has always been an ardent advocate of keeping the country's morals afloat.

Arınç's remark sparked protests on Turkish social media with reports highlighting a Tweet from the opposing party's Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu, contesting the controversial remarks and stating the need for the world to hear women's happy laughter.

Other netizens responded with more hostility. One in particular stated that instead of commenting on women's laughter Arınç should "count all the money that [he] stole".

Meanwhile, thousands of women across the country responded to Arınç's statement by posting photos of themselves laughing and smiling.

Over 300,000 Tweets from Turkish people containing 'kahkaha' (the Turkish term for 'laughter') have been posted since the publication of Arınç's laughter comments.

"I'm free and whether I laugh or not is my decision," 23-year-old Hazal Naz Besleyici wrote as she uploaded an image of herself wearing a broad grin.

Writer and political commentator Ece Temelkuran cited that the Deputy Prime Minister's statement was "outrageous" and much too conservative, describing women's laughter on Twitter as both "extraordinary and kind of beautiful."

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