Egyptian court jails, fines lawyer for saying women in ripped jeans should be raped

A court in Egypt has sentenced prominent Egyptian lawyer Nabih al-Wahsh to three years in jail and fined him the sum of 20,000 Egyptian pounds (£839; $1,130) after he said women wearing ripped jeans deserved to be raped.

Al Wahsh made the comments on a televised panel about draft legislation on prostitution in the country, when he said of women wearing revealing clothing.

“It is a patriotic duty to sexually harass her and a national duty to rape her,” Al Wahsh said.

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“Are you happy when you see a girl walking down the street with half of her behind showing?” he asked. “I say that when a girl walks about like that, it is a patriotic duty to sexually harass her and a national duty to rape her.”

The lawyer added that women who wore revealing clothing were “inviting men to harass them”, and said “protecting morals is more important than protecting borders”.

According to reports, Al Wahsh was slammed with the jail sentence and fine by the prosecutor after a public outcry over his comments which were described in some quarters as derogatory.

The National Council for Women’s Rights condemned the remarks, saying they were a “flagrant call” for rape, in violation of “everything in the Egyptian constitution”.

 

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