An the United States, there is Britney Spears. In Egypt, Sherine Abdel Wahab. Two artists, two women, whom everything seems to oppose, and who nevertheless live similar destinies, down to their family problems: Britney Spears in relation to her father, with whom she fought to get rid of her the tutelage he imposed on her for years, Sherine Abdel Wahab constrained and forced by her relatives to go to rehab. But in Egypt, it is also reminiscent of the sometimes precarious fate of women in a conservative country.
Aged 42, the darling of Arab pop often makes headlines: with her marriage and then her divorce from Egyptian singer Hossam Habib, then her sentence to six months in prison for having joked on stage about the quality of the water of the Nil then his acquittal…
This time, her brother Mohammed Abdel Wahab announced in mid-October that he had to force her to start rehab, without giving details, as Britney Spears’ father kept her under guardianship for health issues.
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In January, Sherine Abdel Wahab was on stage in the United Arab Emirates. The shaved head, like Britney Spears in 2007. “Accept me like that”, she had launched to her audience, flabbergasted.Tribunal des talk-shows
“Because of his choices and his hair […] Sherine Abdel Wahab was kidnapped by her family,” accuses blogger Mahmoud Salem on Facebook, relaunching the #FreeBritney keyword (free Britney, in English) used by fans who were demanding the lifting of her father’s guardianship.
This alleged abduction seems to be denied by the person concerned: her lawyer withdrew the complaint he had filed against her family in mid-October. “Medical reports state that hospitalization was necessary,” Yasser Qantouch told a television station.
The issue of women’s rights is sensitive in Egypt where, according to the authorities, nearly eight million women had suffered violence in 2015 from a spouse, relative or stranger in the public space. .
In addition, in 2021, the government proposed – without success – a bill aimed at allowing the fathers and brothers of the 50 million Egyptian women to annul their marriage.
From Morocco to Yemen, via Bahrain or Sudan, artists and Internet users have launched keywords and other messages of support for Sherine Abdel Wahab, whom they have followed for more than 20 years. “With her rare talent, she took up the torch of the great voices of the Arab world”, such as Oum Kalsoum, Warda or Fairouz, told AFP Tareq Mortada, spokesperson for the Egyptian musicians’ union. His first album in 2002, Free Mix 3 in collaboration with singer Tamer Hosni, had sold over 20 million copies.
Seven albums, a film, a sitcom and a judge’s seat in the Arab version of telecrochet The Voice later, the singer continues to fascinate. Jokes and other memes on social networks bear witness to this. In one image, Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose invasion of Ukraine dominates the news, is seen on the phone. “Forget Ukraine, give me the latest news from Sherine Abdel Wahab instead,” he told his interlocutor.
” Victim of his own success “
Because everyone in Egypt wonders about the reasons that could have led to her admission to rehab, while no one says publicly what addiction she would suffer from.
In the meantime, his loved ones are tearing themselves apart. On the one hand, the Abdel Wahab family assures us that her ex-husband is violent and wants to take advantage of the singer’s money and fame. On the other, the latter denies en bloc.
Mohammed Abdel Wahab and Hossam Habib took turns at the microphone of one of Egypt’s most watched talk shows. “My sister is in complete perdition […] My mother said to me: “I beg you, save her from her addiction”, indicated the first. “I have never been violent towards a woman”, defends Hossam Habib. “Nor took a penny from Sherine. »
Shortly before her hospitalization, the singer had mentioned her supposed addiction. “You can be addicted to medicine, to food, to bad habits, you’re not necessarily addicted to drugs,” she said then. For Tareq Mortada, of the musicians’ union, “love her or hate her”, the name of Sherine “is engraved in all hearts”. “Sherine Abdel Wahab is a victim of her success, too many people envy her. »