Television channels were instructed that they would be suspended for a day if they aired the music video for ‘Kuşu Kalkmaz’, a single from Sultana’s debut album ‘Çerkez Kızı’, reported Çetin Cem Yilmaz in Turkish Daily News.

The title means ‘Your Bird Can’t Fly’ which can be translated into English as ‘Can’t get it up’ – Turkish slang suggesting that those men who harass women have erection problems. The music video caused controversy, and a rare level of criticism, as well as a legal battle. Most people failed to understand the ironic criticism underlying Sultana’s controversial lyrics, focusing instead on their explicit content.

Shocked and frustrated
After years spent in the United States, Sultana told Çetin Cem Yilmaz that she was frustrated by the heated debate around her song:

“It shocked me. Creativity, as we call it, happens with freedom. When there are restrictions or pressure, you cannot produce decent music. What can you create when your soul is distressed?”

It was, after all, just a three-minute rap song, Sultana argued.

“We have this thought crimes issue [in Turkey],” Sultana said. “I just can’t get how a person can be guilty of thinking.”