Egyptian actress to be tried for wearing a dress that showed her legs

Image: Rania Youssef
Egyptian actress Rania Youssef poses on the red carpet at the closing ceremony of the 40th edition of the Cairo International Film Festival at the Cairo Opera House in the Egyptian capital on Nov. 29, 2018. Copyright Suhail Saleh
Copyright Suhail Saleh
By Associated Press with NBC News World News
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Rania Youssef appeared at the closing ceremony of a film festival in Cairo wearing a see-through dress that revealed the entirety of her legs.

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CAIRO — An Egyptian actress is facing trial next month charged with public obscenity after she showed up at the closing ceremony of a film festival in Cairo wearing a see-through 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 young actress.

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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 continues to have a voice five years after an Islamist president was ousted by the military amid mass protests against his rule.

Youssef, who is in her 30s, faces up to five years in prison if convicted.

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