Egyptian Actress Shadia Deprived of Honor in 3rd Death Anniv.

The Egyptian iconic actress, Shadia, was deprived of an important honor on the third anniversary of her death, today, Saturday, November 28.

Art critic, Tariq Al-Shennawi, posted on his Facebook account that the owner of the building, in which Shadia was living, refused to place a sign of '3ash Hena' (Lived Here) initiative to celebrate the late actress and her artistic history spanning nearly 40 years.

The National Organization for Urban Harmony (NOUH) and the Ministry of Culture started working on the initiative, called “Lived Here,” to mark the homes of Egypt's iconic figures in arts, literature, politics and science two years ago.

The project got off to a slow start when both NOUH and the ministry went through administrative changes, but in February 2018, NOUH finally designed and installed 70 signs for 70 prominent Egyptian figures outside their one-time residences. The signs include a brief description of the figure's work, achievements and life.

The critic indicated that the building owner's refusal was due to his claims that there are others who lived in building who are more worthy than Shadia to be honored.

Al-Shennawi’s announcement sparked a debate among his followers, who called for forcing the owner of the building to put the sign, and even to name the street, where Shadia lived for more than 30 years after her to commemorate her long lengthy of artistic work.

The chairman of NOUH, Mohamed Abou Saeda, said that the idea started as part of the Street Story Project to protect Egypt's architectural heritage from demolition. The project sought to install signs detailing each street’s history as well as information about prominent past residents.

In the course of its research, NOUH found that dozens of historical figures had lived on such streets. The group decided to create a new initiative that would focus on the inpidual buildings. The first phase of the project was carried out in Cairo, and then it spread to Alexandria and other cities.

Abou Saeda said each sign contains a QR code that visitors can scan with their smartphones to “access a large database prepared by NOUH and includes accurate and comprehensive details about the famous figure who lived there.”