Marwa Denied License to Act in Egypt

CAIRO, 22 May 2007 — The head of the Egyptian Actors’ Union, Ashraf Zaki, has denied Lebanese singer Marwa permission to act in Hussam Salah’s play “Yamama Bayda” at the Al-Salam Theater or to participate in any television serials or plays, the Arabic daily Al-Yaum reported recently.

Zaki without elaborating, issued a statement simply saying the union had not issued a license to Marwa allowing her to work in Egypt.

Baffled by Zaki’s decisions, Marwa said she was surprised to read Zaki’s derogatory comments about her in the newspapers and feared his treatment might negatively reflect on her career.

She added that Zaki had been trying to ruin her image and it was unbecoming of an official of his rank. She also charged the union leader with attempting to make things difficult for all non-Egyptian actors in the country.