Actress Faces Five Years In Prison For Her Revealing Dress

Rania Youssef/Instagram

An Egyptian actress is going on trial on charges of ‘inciting immorality’ after wearing an ‘obscene’ dress to the Cairo Film Festival.

Rania Youssef, 45, could face up to five years in jail if found guilty, a judicial source told AFP.

Youseff, who wore a black lace dress that exposed most of her legs, said she would not have worn the dress if she had known how much controversy it would have caused, BBC News reports.

Rania posted a ‘statement and clarification’ on Facebook in Arabic (translated by Google):

Respecting the feelings of every Egyptian family angered by the dress I wore at the closing ceremony of the Cairo International Film Festival, I would like to emphasize that I did not mean to appear in a way that angered and angered many who considered the dress inappropriate. I could have appreciated it as I wore the dress for the first time and did not expect to provoke all this anger.

The opinions of fashion designers and fashion specialists often affect the choice of clothing choices, and they may have taken into account that we are in an international festival.

I did not expect everything that happened and I knew when I was wearing the dress
Here I reiterate my adherence to the values ​​and ethics that we have raised in the Egyptian society, which have been and will continue to be respected.

I am proud to be an artist with a good and positive balance with my fans. I hope that everyone will understand my good intentions and my desire to anger anyone. God willing, I will be at the good of everyone.

I also cherish the membership of the Artists’ Union, its enlightenment role, its protection of values ​​and its defense of art.

The charges were brought by lawyers Amro Abdelsalam and Samir Sabri, who are known for taking celebrities to court.

Sabri told AFP:

Youssef’s appearance did not meet societal values, traditions and morals and therefore undermined the reputation of the festival and the reputation of Egyptian women in particular.

Last year singer Shaimaa Ahmed was jailed for two years for appearing in a music video in her underwear while suggestively eating a banana.

Another Egyptian singer was controversially held for ‘inciting debauchery’ in January this year. Laila Amer was detained after her music video showed her dancing and allegedly making suggestive gestures.

Fans have expressed their discomfort with Rania’s trial, saying:

Wondering what’s happening in Egypt? Actress Rania Youssef wore this dress to the Cairo International Film Festival.

A group of lawyers then took it upon themselves to submit a legal complaint against Rania for what they have determined to be too revealing for a dress.

Another wrote:

Egyptian actress Rania Youssef charged over revealing dress.

Terrible that what a woman wears is seen to incite others (ie men) and that she is seen to be responsible and therefore culpable.

Some people think she disrespected the Islamic culture of Egypt, while others think she should be able to wear what she wants to wear.

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UNILAD