CAIRO (AP) — An Egyptian actress is facing trial next month charged with public obscenity after she attended the closing ceremony of a film festival in Cairo wearing a see-through embroidered gauze dress that revealed the entirety of her legs.
Rania Youssef’s trial, which is scheduled to begin Jan. 12, follows a complaint to the chief prosecutor by a group of lawyers against the actress.
Egyptian actress Rania Youssef poses on the red carpet at the closing ceremony of the 40th edition of the Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF) at the Cairo Opera House in the Egyptian capital on November 29, 2018. OMAR ZOHEIRY/AFP/Getty Images)
Egyptian actress Rania Youssef walks on the red carpet at the closing ceremony of the 40th edition of the Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF) at the Cairo Opera House in the Egyptian capital on November 29, 2018. PATRICK BAZ/AFP/Getty Images)
Egypt is a mostly conservative country with a Muslim majority. The Arab country of 100 million people has retained vestiges of secularism despite decades of growing religious conservatism, but Youssef’s case serves as a reminder that Islamic fundamentalism still pervades society five years after an Islamist president was ousted by the military.
Youssef faces up to five years in prison if convicted.