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Comeback actress stirs hornet’s nest on hijab in Egypt

Actress Hala Shiha has changed her mind several times about her career and her attire, but her latest announcement has caused an unprecedented backlash.
CAIRO, EGYPT:  Egyptian actress Hala Shiha prepares a cup of tea at the set of her new movie, 03 September 2005 in Cairo. AFP PHOTO/AMRO MARAGHI   (Photo credit should read AMRO MARAGHI/AFP/Getty Images)

Retired Egyptian actress Hala Shiha's recent announcement on social media that she would make a comeback soon has stirred wide controversy in Egypt, rekindling the debate on the hijab.

Shiha, 39, quit her acting career in 2005 after deciding to wear the hijab, the headscarf traditionally worn by Muslim women. In August 2017, Shiha provoked an outcry when she posted a picture of herself on Facebook in a niqab, the full face veil. Vowing never to take it off or to return to acting, she urged her fans not to share her old pictures as an actress so as "not to sin."

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