“Some of the writings in the book will have a detrimental influence on the minds of those under the age of 18,” a Turkish governmental organization responsible for the protection of minors announced, the AFP reported.
The book, written by Francesca Cavallo and Elena Favilli, has been published in 47 languages and is a New York Times bestseller. According to the book’s description on Amazon, it’s “packed with 100 bedtime stories about the life of 100 extraoridnary women from the past and the present.”
In a statement this week, the Turkish Publishers Association condemned the government's decision, claiming it was “a danger from the perspective of freedom of expression and press, and a threat to the principles of a democratic society.”
Cavallo also expressed disappointment at the decision.
“Girls deserve to grow up surrounded by more female role models. They deserve to grow up thinking that they can be anything they want,” she told AFP Friday.
“When a government is scared by a children’s book promoting equality, that means that promoting these messages through children’s literature can have and is having an impact, and it makes me even more motivated to keep fighting every day,” she added.
Since the book was published in 2016, it has received widespread acclaim.
Russia also censored the book last year, cutting a segment about Coy Mathis, a US transgender girl who challenged her home state of Colorado in 2013 about being able to use the girls’ bathroom.
According to the book’s publisher, that chapter of the book defied Russia’s 2013 law against dispersing “propaganda for non-traditional sexual relations” to minors, Reuters reported.
