Named only as Nesma, her first name, a 25-year-old woman is accused of sexually assaulting a monkey in a pet shop in Mansoura city. According to local reports, Nesma was sentenced on Thursday to three years behind bars. She is a resident of a village in Dakahlia.

The Mansoura Misdemeanor Court charged her with provoking emotions, inciting debauchery and lewd acts in public. This was after a video went viral on social media in October, which showed Nesma touching the monkey’s genitals.

Woman visits pet shop and abuses a monkey

Egypt Independent reports that the woman has asked a friend to record video of the incident, as she fondled the monkey’s genitals in public in a pet shop, intending to arouse the animal.

That report said she was also trying to incite the public to commit adultery. Investigations of Nesma uncovered the fact that she had previously been charged in a case involving prostitution. She was allegedly making the video to promote herself.

After the 90-second video went viral, she was arrested by police and confessed to the incident involving the monkey. In court, the woman told prosecutors that she was merely petting the monkey and had no ill intentions. She also said she had no knowledge of the video being posted online and that it had all been a joke.

She added that she was not aware that her friend was filming the incident.

NDTV reports that the Egyptian news outlet Al-Ahram had reported that the woman’s name is Basma Ahmed. Whatever her real name is, one Twitter user expressed outrage over the woman’s sentence, saying the same country rarely lifts a finger when women are regularly raped and harassed.

Guard accused of sexually assaulting a monkey in India

The International Business Times reports that in 2017, a watchman western Indian state of Maharashtra stood accused of assaulting a female monkey.

The man had kept the monkey tied up to a tree for nearly two years. An Animal Welfare Officer told police that he saw the animal in a “compromising position” with the guard. However, he faced no charges and no action was taken against him.

The founder of Resqink Association of Wildlife Welfare, Pawan Sharma, said at that time that monkeys are the “most exploited and ignored species" when it comes to their welfare and management tasks. Sharma said his organisation was working with the forest department on the issues to ensure they are addressed. He said they were seeking alternatives until an independent rescue centre for the city is ready.
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