A Turkish Court has recently blocked the domain name Havrita.com. The blockade came amid global online protest regarding the domain name with the promulgated hashtag #HavritaKapatilsin (Shut Down Havrita). So what was all the fuss about?
Havrita.com is a social platform that aims at locating street dogs. The name Havrita is an amalgamation of Hav, i.e., Bark and Harita i.e., a map. The complete meaning thus being the map of barks.
However, it wasn’ the name that drew protests. The protests were brought because of the way the platform was used. The platform didn’t seek to give home to poor dogs. But, rather it was a way to exterminate them, which some residents consider as filth.
There had been many instances of multiple dogs being found dead in the localities that were mentioned in the platform. It was speculated that the dead dogs were being poisoned.
The issue became political as it was then associated with the growing wave of Islamisation in Turkey. Dogs are considered impure according to Orthodox Muslims. Hence, there was even a justification to the killings and the website. Some even supported the platform as it aided their ‘right to live in a healthy environment’. An environment which would have been apparently unfit with the presence of dogs!
The matter reached the courts. The court banned access to the disputed platform’s domain name.
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