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.