Egyptian actress Rania Youssef, facing trial for wearing see-through dress, says she didn’t mean to offend
- Egyptian actress is set to face trial in January for wearing a see-through dress at the Cairo film festival
- Pictures of the 44-year-old star left social media users divided, with some calling her names and other defending her right to wear what she wants
An Egyptian actress facing trial on public obscenity charges for wearing a revealing dress says she didn’t mean to offend anyone and appealed to her detractors to believe in her good intentions.
In a Facebook post, Rania Youssef said she may have misjudged how people would react to the dress she wore at the closing ceremony of this year’s Cairo International Film Festival, which revealed the entirety of her legs through embroidered gauze.
In choosing that dress, she said, she had referred to fashion designers that may have been influenced by the tastes and standards at international film festivals.
“I want to repeat my commitment to the values and ethics we have been raised by in Egyptian society,” said Youssef, whose statement fell short of an apology.
Images of Youssef at the event were widely shared on social media, prompting a group of lawyers to file a complaint to the chief prosecutor, who quickly sent the actress to trial.