The former Egyptian diplomat and parliament member, Anisa Hassouna, passed away on Sunday at the age of 69, following a struggle with cancer and a life full of contributing to charitable projects.
The news of Hassouna’s death received wide media attention in Egypt, and newspapers and websites referred to the death of a “pioneer” of charitable work.
And the Egyptian actress and media person, Esaad Younes, published a picture of the late and wrote: Where did you go? (Until you go?)”.
Director Amr Arafa mourned her, saying that she was a woman of “courage and resistance to illness a lot”:
A thousand mercy and light upon you.. you are kind and brave.. you resisted the disease a lot.. in heaven and its bliss, God willing ???? #anissa_hassouna pic.twitter.com/PODJA529w3
— Amr arafa (@AArafa) March 13, 2022
The writer Fatima Naoot described her as “beautiful”, referring to the “pains” she endured because of the disease:
Farewell beautiful d. #Anisa_Hassouna.
May God compensate you for the pains you faced in your life with the battle of cancer. ????????
We belong to Allah and to Him we shall return. @AnissaHassouna pic.twitter.com/I73XqutqT0— Fatima Naoot March 13, 2022
Hassouna became particularly famous following she was appointed CEO of the International Doctor Foundation, Magdi Yacoub, for Charitable Heart Diseases and Research, before she established the People’s Hospital for Children to provide free service to patients.
The establishment of the last project was a reason to honor the victory of Al-Sisi, the wife of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, recently, in her last appearance before her death.
Hassouna appeared during the honoring ceremony, sitting in a wheelchair, following chemotherapy caused her difficulty in moving.
Hassouna said in a tweet accompanied by pictures from the honoring ceremony: “In the darkest circumstances and the most difficult times, one sends gifts from heaven to light the way for him”:
When your country pats your shoulder and says thank you for your efforts, what would you ask for more than that? I am honored and pleased to inform you that I was honored today by Mrs. Intisar El-Sisi, wife of the President, as CEO of People’s Hospital for Children
Our Lord always, in the darkest circumstances and the most difficult times, sends a person the gifts of heaven to light the way for him pic.twitter.com/SeCvEM6usw— Anissa Hassouna (@AnissaHassouna) March 8, 2022
Hassouna, who was born in January 1965, is the daughter of Issam Hassouna, Minister of Justice during the rule of the late President Gamal Abdel Nasser, according to Egyptian today.
She obtained a BA in Economics and Political Science from Cairo University, and began her career in the diplomatic corps, when she held the position of diplomatic attaché at the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, then worked in the Council of Arab Economic Unity in the League of Arab States, and then was appointed as a member of the House of Representatives, among other positions before being appointed Entering the field of charitable work.
She was the first woman elected as Secretary-General of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs.
In 2014, she chose her Arabian Business magazine International among the 100 most powerful Arab women for her professional and human history.
After she contracted the disease in 2016, she was looking at the Egyptians through television channels to talk regarding her suffering and to encourage Egyptians to get early examination of tumors, and to call for donations to the Magdi Yacoub Foundation and the People’s Hospital for Children.
Over the past years, she has remained one of the most famous cancer fighters in Egypt, due to her adherence to hope for recovery and her sense of optimism.
