Farewell, Afaf Yehya

Mrs Afaf Yahya, as we all know her in Al-Akhbar newspaper, is our professor with whom we dealt in the art of journalistic investigation. Everyone knew about her competence, kindness, and understanding. You felt that she was your big sister, she was communicating with us with the utmost humanity, professionalism, and high morals. She died yesterday, may God have mercy on her soul. 

Afaf Yahya was the head of the investigative journalism department at Al-Akhbar newspaper and she was in charge of the Laylat al-Qadr section for humanitarian journalism.. she is the wife of the late famous media professor, the great writer and thinker, Amin Bassiouni, who was one of the Egyptian radio figures and was also a pioneer in the field of cultural, Arab, and humanitarian journalism.

She is the mother of famous media figures Tamer Amin and Alaa Bassiouni. The whole family has left a mark in the history of Egyptian media, whether visual, audio, or printed ones.

She was one of the generation of pioneering female journalists in the field of journalism, a professor and head of the investigative. In addition to journalistic investigation, she headed and supervised the section on the Laylat Al-Qadr through journalist Mustafa Amin. Working in the humanitarian departments required special specifications that qualify the journalist to do his work..these specifications are feeling of people, the pulse of patients, and communication between the press and its rules and readers. 

She founded the humanitarian journalism and interaction with people in the Middle East.. I worked with her on Laylat al-Qadr, and my professor, Mustafa Amin, assigned me to chair the "Healing Week"  Department, so we cooperated in all fields.

Afaf Yahya is one of the generation of pioneering female journalists who learned directly from well known journalist Mustafa Amin, such like Neam El-Baz, Hassan Shah, and Maha Abdel Fattah

I hope that Al-Akhbar newspaper will document the life journey of these figures who passed away and create pamphlets and books explaining their journalistic journeys.

May God have mercy on the soul of Afaf Yahya, and grant us, her students, colleagues, and family, patience and solace.