عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Varieties

Egyptian Screen Legend Shadia Passes Away

Egypt’s Shadia acts with Abdul Halim Hafez. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Egypt’s Shadia acts with Abdul Halim Hafez. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
TT
TT

Egyptian Screen Legend Shadia Passes Away

Egypt’s Shadia acts with Abdul Halim Hafez. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Egypt’s Shadia acts with Abdul Halim Hafez. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Iconic Egyptian actress Shadia passed away on Tuesday at the age of 86 after a long battle with illness, leaving behind a glittering acting and singing career.

She passed away at a Cairo hospital after suffering a stroke and falling into a coma.

Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi and his wife paid a visit to the hospital upon hearing news of the actress’ deteriorating health.

She started her career of 117 movie roles in 1947 and ended it in 1984. She showed off her acting skills by taking on a wide range of diverse roles, from a desperate women who sells her daughter to feed her family, to an aspiring singer in a rags-to-riches story.

In the mid-1980s and at the height of her career, Shadia shocked her fans by announcing her retirement from singing and acting.

She said at the time that she did not want to play the role of the old woman after viewers had grown accustomed to seeing her as a young lady.

“I do not like people seeing the wrinkles in my face and comparing them to young lady that they used to know,” she remarked.

Despite her retirement however, she remained in the hearts of her fans and her films are constantly aired on television.

Shadia also performed in ten radio shows and the play “Rayya was Skeena”.

It was during that play’s run that she was diagnosed with breast cancer. The news did not deter her and she continued on acting in the show until the end of its run. She then traveled to France to receive treatment.

Soon after, she decided to retire and dedicated the rest of her life to religion and charitable work. Shadia donated her house to be transformed in a cancer research center. She shunned the media spotlight and refused all requests to sit for an interview.

Nobel laureate Najib Mahfouz described Shadia as a “very skilled actress who managed to bring the words of my novels to life.”

No one but her could have translated with such excellence words into cinematic art, he added.

Shadia’s brother Khaled Shaker told Asharq Al-Awsat that doctors did their best in treating the actress, but her health gradually deteriorated.

Most Viewed

 
 
Varieties

Tunisia Women Herb Harvesters Struggle with Drought and Heat

A woman harvests aromatic and medicinal plants in the mountains of Tbainia village near the city of Ain Drahem, in the northwest of Tunisia on November 6, 2024. (AFP)
A woman harvests aromatic and medicinal plants in the mountains of Tbainia village near the city of Ain Drahem, in the northwest of Tunisia on November 6, 2024. (AFP)
TT
TT

Tunisia Women Herb Harvesters Struggle with Drought and Heat

A woman harvests aromatic and medicinal plants in the mountains of Tbainia village near the city of Ain Drahem, in the northwest of Tunisia on November 6, 2024. (AFP)
A woman harvests aromatic and medicinal plants in the mountains of Tbainia village near the city of Ain Drahem, in the northwest of Tunisia on November 6, 2024. (AFP)

On a hillside in Tunisia's northwestern highlands, women scour a sun-scorched field for the wild herbs they rely on for their livelihoods, but droughts and rising temperatures are making it ever harder to find the precious plants.

Yet the harvesters say they have little choice but to struggle on, as there are few opportunities in a country hit hard by unemployment, inflation and high living costs.

"There is a huge difference between the situation in the past and what we are living now," said Mabrouka Athimni, who heads a local collective of women herb harvesters named "Al Baraka" ("Blessing").

"We're earning half, sometimes just a third, of what we used to."

Tunisia produces around 10,000 tons of aromatic and medicinal herbs each year, according to official figures.

Rosemary accounts for more than 40 percent of essential oil exports, mainly destined for French and American markets.

For the past 20 years, Athimni's collective has supported numerous families in Tbainia, a village near the city of Ain Draham in a region with much higher poverty rates than the national average.

Women, who make up around 70 percent of the agricultural workforce, are the main breadwinners for their households in Tbainia.

- 'Yield less' -

Tunisia is in its sixth year of drought and has seen its water reserves dwindle, as temperatures have soared past 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) in some areas during the summer.

The country has 36 dams, mostly in the northwest, but they are currently just 20 percent full -- a record low in recent decades.

The Tbainia women said they usually harvested plants like eucalyptus, rosemary and mastic year-round, but shrinking water resources and rare rainfall have siphoned oil output.

"The mountain springs are drying up, and without snow or rain to replenish them, the herbs yield less oil," said Athimni.

Mongia Soudani, a 58-year-old harvester and mother of three, said her work was her household's only income. She joined the collective five years ago.

"We used to gather three or four large sacks of herbs per harvest," she said. "Now, we're lucky to fill just one."

Forests in Tunisia cover 1.25 million hectares, about 10 percent of them in the northwestern region.

Wildfires fueled by drought and rising temperatures have ravaged these woodlands, further diminishing the natural resources that women like Soudani depend on.

In the summer of last year, wildfires destroyed around 1,120 hectares near Tbainia.

"Parts of the mountain were consumed by flames, and other women lost everything," Soudani recalled.

To adapt to some climate-driven challenges, the women received training from international organizations, such as the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), to preserve forest resources.

Still, Athimni struggles to secure a viable income.

"I can't fulfil my clients' orders anymore because the harvest has been insufficient," she said.

The collective has lost a number of its customers as a result, she said.

- 'No longer sustainable' -

A recent study by the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights (FTDES) highlighted how climate-induced damage to forests had severely impacted local communities.

"Women in particular suffer the consequences as their activities become more difficult and arduous," the study said.

Tunisia has ratified key international environmental agreements, including the 2015 Paris Climate Accord.

But environmental justice researcher Ines Labiadh, who oversaw the FTDES study, said implementation "remains incomplete".

In the face of these woes, the Tbainia harvesters, like many women working in the sector, will be forced to seek alternative livelihoods, said Labiadh.

"They have no choice but to diversify their activities," she said. "Relying solely on natural resources is no longer sustainable."

Back in the field, Bachra Ben Salah strives to collect whatever herbs she can lay her hands on.

"There's nothing we can do but wait for God's mercy," she said.