Shafya Ahmed

An Egyptian singer, her real name is (Shafia Ahmed Muhammad Al-Sayegh). She was born in the Housh Adam area in Cairo. She was deprived of sight. She began her artistic career by memorizing the Holy Qur’an. Her father accompanied her to the Egyptian Radio House, where the musician Muhammad Al-Qasabji listened to her. The musician Ibrahim Shafiq was also keen to adopt her talent, so he enrolled her in his private music institute to learn from him. She sang a number of songs in his arias. Well-known songs during the 1940s. Among her colleagues at the institute were Helmy Farag, Mohamed Qandil, Fayed Mohamed, and Abdel Fattah Mansi. She sang on the radio when she was 11 years old. Then luck smiled at her and record companies approached her to record her songs. She recorded her first song called (My Love and My Home), then a poem (O Bird on the Branch of Pan). She also sang in about 35 films. She stopped singing for five years after an illness that affected her throat. In 1960, she recovered and regained the sweetness of her voice. She returned to the radio again and recorded three songs, and obtained several certificates, including a certificate of merit in 1979.