”Raping women who wear distressed jeans is a man’s ‘national duty’” – Egyptian Lawyer Sparks Outrage 

Nabih al-Wahsh, an Egyptian lawyer has caused outrage following his distasteful opinion on rape. In his opinion, he believes women who wear distressed/ ripped jeans deserve to be raped.

Wahsh made the controversial statement while speaking during a debate over a draft law on prostitution on a TV panel show broadcast last month, Independent.co.uk reports.

Incredibly, Wahsh, a prominent conservative said it was part of the “patriotic and national duty” to rape women wearing revealing clothes such as ripped jeans because they were “inviting men to harass them”.

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Mr Wahsh also said that his view was even more valid if the jeans were ripped from the back, according to Al-Arabiya.

”Girls must respect themselves so others respect them. Protecting morals is more important than protecting borders.

Are you happy when you see a girl walking down the street with half of her behind showing? 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,” Wahsh said.

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Brave female guests on the show attempted to fight back against Wahsh’s views after being outraged by his comments.

These comments have also prompted fury across the country as Egypt’s National Council for Women announced it plans to file a complaint against the TV channel and issued a plea for media outlets to refrain from providing a platform for individuals who incite violence against women.

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The National Council also said it would be filing a complaint against Mr al-Wahsh himself and rebuked his assertion.

Maya Mursi, Head of the National Council for Women’s Rights said the comments were a “flagrant call” for rape and violate ‘everything in the Egyptian constitution.

”All the members of the council denounce and decry this statement that explicitly promotes rape and sexual harassment,” a spokesman said in a statement.

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Wahsh, has previously stated his opposition to women serving as judges, arguing that if women become judges they could also become muftis – a Muslim legal expert who has the power to give rulings on religious issues.

”If we let a woman become a judge, why shouldn’t she become Sheik of Al-Azhar? Why shouldn’t she become the Mufti? Why don’t we all just go to Hell?! Will she issue me a fatwa while she is menstruating?!”

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His latest comments come after the Egyptian capital of Cairo was last month branded the “most dangerous” mega city for women in the first international poll which looked at how women fare in cities with over 10 million people.

According to a study conducted by the Egyptian Centre for Women’s Rights in 2008, 83 per cent of women said they’d been sexually harassed, while 62 per cent of men admitted to harassing women.

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A further 43 per cent of men in Egypt believe that women like attention and they appreciate being sexually harassed.

Photo credit: Al-Arabiya