Egypt arrests lawyer who said it's a 'national duty to rape girls wearing ripped jeans'

An Egyptian lawyer who said girls wearing ripped jeans should be raped was arrested and sentenced to three years of imprisonment. He was also fined 20,000 Egyptian pounds for making the remarks after a public outcry.

Identified as Nabih al-Wahsh, a prominent conservative, he made the remarks on a TV panel in October during a debate on a draft law on prostitution. He also said that women who wore revealing clothes were ‘inviting men to harass them’ and talked about the importance of protecting morals over borders.

“Are you happy when you see a girl walking down the street with half of her behind showing?” he said, BBC quoted. He further added saying that:

[when a girl walks about] like that, it is a patriotic duty to sexually harass her and a national duty to rape her

WATCH: Egyptian lawyer: Women who wear ripped jeans ‘deserved to be raped’

Following mass outcry against the derogatory and sexist remarks, the prosecutor brought charges against Wahsh. The National Council for Women’s Rights also condemned his remarks and said they were a “flagrant call” for rape. They also stated the remarks were in violation of “everything in the Egyptian constitution”, reports claimed. The Council also reportedly filed a complaint about the statement to the Supreme Council for Media Regulation about the broadcast which was aired in October.

Known for his controversial remarks, Wahsh had earlier declared himself a proud ‘Anti-Semite’ and called the Holocaust a creation of ‘imagination’. He was also reportedly involved in a brawl with a cleric at a television show who said it was not necessary for women to wear a headscarf.

Read: 82% of women are harassed on public transport in Egypt

*Syndicated from India.com