Salwa Hegazy (1 January 1933 – 21 February 1973) was an

Egyptian ''Egyptian'' describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of year ...

television presenter and poet. She presented a number of television programs and represented

Egyptian Television Television in Egypt is mainly received through free satellite, while analog terrestrial represents 41% of total viewers. The Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics said the average time an Egyptian spends watching television a day i ...

in a number of international conferences. She died on board Libyan Arab Airlines Flight 114, shot down by

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

i fighter jets.

Biography

Hegazy was born in

Port Said Port Said ( , , ) is a port city that lies in the northeast Egypt extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, straddling the west bank of the northern mouth of the Suez Canal. The city is the capital city, capital of the Port S ...

and educated at the French-language Lycee School. Hegazy had four children. She was among the 106 passengers killed when Israeli fighter jets shot down Libyan Arab Airlines Flight 114 on 21 February 1973. This plane was en route from

Benghazi Benghazi () () is the List of cities in Libya, second-most-populous city in Libya as well as the largest city in Cyrenaica, with an estimated population of 859,000 in 2023. Located on the Gulf of Sidra in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, Ben ...

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

, but a sandstorm caused it to stray from its course into Egypt's

Sinai Peninsula The Sinai Peninsula, or simply Sinai ( ; ; ; ), is a peninsula in Egypt, and the only part of the country located in Asia. It is between the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the south, and is a land bridge between Asia and Afri ...

, then under

Israeli occupation Israel has occupied the Golan Heights of Syria and the Palestinian territories since the Six-Day War of 1967. It has previously occupied the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt and southern Lebanon as well. Prior to 1967, control of the Palestinian terr ...

. In 2003 the family filed a lawsuit against Israel, trying to bring Israeli officials to justice.

Media career

Hejazi started her media career with Riyadh Radio. In 1960 she moved to Egypt to be a presenter on Egyptian state television. There she presented programmes including ''A Recorded Tape'', ''Reportage'', ''Art and Life'', and a children's show, ''The Sparrows'', which gave her the nickname Mama Salwa. She also presented news bulletins in

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

Literary career

Hejazy published four collections of poetry, including ''Shades and Lights'' in French, with an introduction by Ahmed Rami.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hegazy, Salwa 1933 births 1973 deaths Egyptian television presenters Egyptian women television presenters 20th-century Egyptian poets Egyptian women poets Victims of aircraft shootdowns Mass murder victims Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1973 Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Egypt