Safaa Hegazy, former head of the Egyptian Radio and Television Union, passed away Sunday morning, local media reported. The newly formed National Media Authority headed by Hussein Zein, the National Council for Women Rights (NCWR), and a number of media and public figures issued statements mourning Hegazy and highlighting her career at the ERTU. "We have lost an important media figure who constantly sought to develop Egyptian radio and television," NCWR said in a statement. Hegazy had reportedly been ill. In March this year, state-owned media Al-Ahram reported that she would receive medical treatment outside of Egypt. Hegazy was appointed as head of the ERTU in April 2016 after its board of trustees agreed on dismissing former head Essam Al-Amir from the position. Before that, Hegazy worked in the news sector. She presented a programme titled "The House of Arabs", during which she interviewed Arab world leaders. A few months after her appointment, an ERTU decision to ban female anchors from appearing on TV based on physical appearances—specifically overweight women—stirred public controversy among women rights defenders and received international media's attention.
