Harry Potter actress Emma Watson was recently named Goodwill Ambassador for UN Women and is now doing her role to stand up for women's rights - by laughing.

Watson posted a photo of herself on Twitter as part of the #direnkahkaha protest against the deputy prime minister of Turkey, Bülent Arinc. The #direnkahkaha hashtag can be translated as "resist laughter".

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The photo showed the "Noah" actress laughing outside of what seemed to be a restaurant; it was tweeted with the caption: "#laugh #direnkahkaha @UN_Women"

Arinc had sparked up heated discussions online this week when he spoke to a crowd that was celebrating the Eid al-Fitr holiday, a celebration of Muslims at the end of Ramadan. The deputy prime minister expressed his grief over the decline of traditional values.

In his statement, he said, "A woman should be chaste. She should know the difference between public and private", also adding, "She should not laugh in public."

The sexist comments have encouraged Turkish women to post and share pictures of themselves laughing, including Watson's.

A large number of people have joined in on the protest against Arinc's statement, with both the hashtags #direnkahkaha and #direnkadin ("resist woman") becoming trending topics on Twitter.

With more than 14 million followers on the site, over 16,000 users have retweeted Watson's photo.

Meanwhile, Arinc has insisted that his remarks were taken "out of context" and that he "would have to be an idiot" to restrict women in their country from laughing in public.

"From one and a half hours of my speech, some only heard what I said about women laughing in the street," the prime minister told journalists. "What a disgusting, ugly, and unfounded fabrication."

Before ending his latest statement, he spoke out against famous and influential individuals who take part in "fake laughter" as well as women "who never miss the chance to wrap themselves around a dancing pole."

TagsEmma Watson, Harry Potter, women's rights, laughing, direnkahkaha protest