Safaa Hegazy: Cairo metro station to be named after 'Iron Woman' of Egyptian television

The Zamalek metro station in Cairo will be renamed the Safaa Hegazy metro station. AP Photo

Egypt will rename one of its metro stations in honour of the late journalist Safaa Hegazy, marking the first time a Cairo station has been named after an Egyptian woman.

The Zamalek metro station, which is located just down the street from the Embassy of Spain, will be named the Safaa Hegazy metro station in tribute to the “Iron Woman” of Egyptian television.

The renaming comes as per the order of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi.

Hegazy, who was the president of the country's Radio and Television Union as well as a renowned TV presenter, died in 2017 after suffering from an undisclosed disease.

She graduated from the College of Commerce at Mansoura University in 1984. Soon after, she began her career as a radio presenter, hosting a programme on the Egyptian Radio station, with poet Kamel Al Shennawy and journalist Mustafa Amin, about the life of the legendary Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum.

She then became a television presenter at the Egyptian Television Network in 1990 and travelled to cover the Gulf War.

However, it is through the programme House of Arabs that Hegazy became a household name. She presented the show for more than two decades, interviewing a number of influential political figures and leaders from across the Arab world.

Hegazy suffered from an unspecific illness in 2008, which made her unable to appear on television for a year. In 2013, she was appointed head of the news sector, becoming the first woman to claim the position.

She received many accolades in her lifetime, including a 2015 honour by Mohab Mamish, the chairman of the Suez Canal Authority, for her efforts in the opening ceremony of the new Suez Canal.