A well-known Egyptian television presenter has been sentenced to three years in prison as a result of discussing on-air how women might become pregnant outside of marriage.

The BBC reports Doaa Salah, a presenter on Al-Nahar TV of the With Dody show, asked if her viewers had considered having sex before marriage and suggested a woman could marry briefly to have children before divorcing.

'You simply need to have the money and then separate,' she said, appearing on the episode entitled 'Buy a Man' - aired in July - while wearing a fake baby bump, reports Jezebel.

As a result, Salah has reportedly been charged and convicted of disclaiming public decency and ordered to pay 10,000 Egyptian pounds (£430) in compensation by a court in Cairo.

The EFE news agency reports the authorities said the ideas in the programme 'threatened the fabric of Egyptian life'.

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In socially conservative Egypt, sex before marriage is widely viewed as unacceptable.

During her appearance on the show, Salah suggested that a potential husband could be paid for taking part in a short-lived marriage, and also spoke about how sperm donation is an accepted method in Western countries, but not in Egypt.

Following the broadcast, she was suspended from her presenting job for three months, before legal action was taken against her.

The three-year sentence follows an initial verdict which is open to an appeal.

Salah's sentencing comes days after an Egyptian lawyer prompted an international outcry after saying it's a 'national duty' to sexually harass or rape women who wear revealing clothes.

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Nabih al-Wahsh, a prominent conservative, made the disturbing comments during a TV panel show discussion debating a draft law on fighting prostitution.

'Are you happy when you see a girl walking down the street with half of her behind showing?' the lawyer asked on the Infrad Show (via Variety Alarabiya English).

'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.'

Egypt's National Council for Women has responded by announcing it plans to file a complaint against the TV channel, Al-Assema.

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Katie O'Malley is the Site Director on ELLE UK. On a daily basis you’ll find Katie managing all digital workflow, editing site, video and newsletter content, liaising with commercial and sales teams on new partnerships and deals (eg Nike, Tiffany & Co., Cartier etc), implementing new digital strategies and compiling in-depth data traffic, SEO and ecomm reports. In addition to appearing on the radio and on TV, as well as interviewing everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Rishi Sunak PM, Katie enjoys writing about lifestyle, culture, wellness, fitness, fashion, and more.