Egyptian retired actress Hanan Turk Female artists in the Arab world often leave the spotlight early to concentrate on other projects: family or faith for example. Some make a comeback a few years later, more modest, wearing a headscarf. Moroccan star Bassma Boussil decided to stop singing immediately after announcing her marriage to the Egyptian singer Tamer Hosny. Some believe that her husband asked her to give up her singing career. Hosny decided to celebrate his marriage by making his way to Mecca to perform Hajj. Rumours have circulated about Hosny contacting Boussil’s producer to order him to stop the completion of her new album.
Sofia El-Marikh had a similar destiny when she married a Moroccan business man. She retired soon after starting a family life.
Moroccan actress Eman Shaker, who played in El Aar (The Shame) retired in order to explore her faith. She announced that “her stability would come with a life outside acting”. She also decided to wear a hijab after performing a pilgrimage to Mecca – also known as Omra. Shaker became Miss Morocco three years ago, but she now believes that an acting career would affect her reputation as a woman.
Back in the eighties, Azza Galal known for her original glasses, retired as well at an early stage. She produced very popular Moroccan songs which are still well-known today like Habib Al Quds or El Quds Lover.
The same phenomenon began in the eighties in Egypt with Hanan Tork’s announcement on Lebanese television that she would prefer to devote her life to her three sons.
Some Egyptian stars retired, and then came back like Soher Ramzy who decided to wear a headscarf for the second part of her career, 13 years after retiring. Other artists like Soher El-Bably and Athar El-Hakim came back to the spotlight after spending years away from fame.