اردو
  • Former Egyptian actress attacked on social media for wearing niqab

    Hala Shiha poses in front of the Giza pyramids on 26 June 2001. @AFP Hala Shiha poses in front of the Giza pyramids on 26 June 2001.

    Former Egyptian actress Hala Shiha has become the latest victim of social media trolling after she posted the first photo of herself donning a niqab.

    Shiha had quit her career years ago for religious reasons. Ever since, she had been presenting herself to audiences as a religious woman who wears an Islamic headscarf or Hijab. But this week, the former actress posted for the first time a picture of herself donning a face veil on a Facebook account attributed to her.

    However, comments on social media aggressively attacked Shiha for seeing her in a niqab, instead of a Hijab. Some users began calling her a trash bag while others made fun of her, saying they are not sure of her identity, given that her face was covered. But Shiha responded to all of that calmly, asking everyone to not spread hate on her page.

    Initially, Shiha didn’t disappear from the world of acting completely after wearing the Islamic headscarf. She took part in her film “Kamil El Awsaf” (Perfect Features) appearing in a hijab.

    However, it was later reported that she left Egypt for the United States, married a westerner, and works as an Islamic preacher.

    The recent backlash Shiha had received on social media has come weeks after another Egyptian actress, Nelly Karim, was “slut-shamed” for wearing a bikini on the beach.