Sophia Bush Helps Explain How the 'Challenge Accepted' Trend on Instagram Started

For the past few days, women have been nominating each other on Instagram to post black-and-white photos of themselves along with the caption “Challenge accepted” and the hashtag #womensupportingwomen. People have assumed that the challenge is about women’s empowerment.

Sophia Bush is now explaining the reasoning behind the new social media challenge.

“Beginning recently in Turkey, the black & white photo posts originated as a show of defiance in support of Turkish women, & specifically #PinarGültekin who was brutally murdered there,” Sophia wrote on Instagram. “Turkey has one of the highest global rates of #femicide, with more than 500 murders of women recorded in 2019, & many more that went unreported. Turkey is attempting to abolish certain aspects of the Istanbul Convention, which are meant to protect women from domestic violence. This reprehensible action would quite literally make murdering women easier. Women in Turkey are protesting the lack of action or punishment for these murders by their government.

“They are protesting because every day they wake up to see black & white photos of women who’ve been murdered on the news,” Sophia continued. “The instagram action was intended to show the Turkish government that all women know it could be them, their picture on the news, next.”

Along with her post, Sophia shared a black and white photo of Breonna Taylor, who was killed by police officers while she slept in her home in Louisville, Kentucky earlier this year.

“While the women educating the internet around this know there’s no ill will in the whole ‘tag women who inspire you’ thing that’s trending, it’s important to acknowledge the mission of the trend’s inception. And so in THAT spirit, I’ll say #challengeaccepted for #BreonnaTaylor. She was murdered. In her bed. By the police. 200 days ago. And not one of those men has been arrested for killing her. Brett Hankison, Jonathan Mattingly, & Myles Cosgrove need to be arrested & charged,” Sophia wrote. “I ‘challenge’ state attorney general @danieljaycameron to pursue justice in this case. There is no justice until her killers are arrested. There is no justice until we end qualified immunity. There is no truth to the promises of police reform until there is accountability for murdering the citizens you are tasked to serve and protect. There is no freedom until all of us are free.

“For Breonna, and for our sisters in Turkey, I chant again today ‘NO JUSTICE NO PEACE!’ #justiceforbreonnataylor #blacklivesmatter #Turkey,” Sophia concluded.

You can see Sophia Bush‘s entire post on Instagram here.