Egyptian actress Rania Youssef to be tried for wearing revealing dress

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

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.

Egyptian actress Rania Youssef attends 40th edition of the Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF) at the Cairo Opera House in the Egyptian capital on November 29, 2018. (AFP file photo)

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.

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