Hala Sirhan, Vice President and presenter of the Egyptian satellite channel Dream TV, has just tied the knot to Egyptian Astronaut Dr. Talal Min’im. Her husband is said to be president of one of the major telecommunication companies in the United States as reported by Alhayat newspaper.
Hala one of the Arab world's most famous television personalities had her big day among family members preferring a small private wedding instead of a big one. Sarhan expressed her happiness with the sacred union and revealed she will be going on a two-week honeymoon.
Less than a year ago, a new private satellite channel was launched in Egypt called Dream TV.
Egypt's state-run TV and Radio Corporation owns 10 percent, but the main owner is businessman
Ahmed Bahgat. Dream TV's vice-president and star presenter is Hala Sirhan, who previously worked on Voice of America's Arabic service.
Sarhan is one of the major reasons for Dream TV's popularity. After several years of being a major attraction at Saudi-owned ART, she decided that it was time to move on and ART's loss is indisputably Dream TV's gain. Sarhan is that rare mix of television personalities: a competent, professional journalist with an excellent grasp of her subject matter who conducts gritty, incisive interviews, and has a savvy personality for understanding of the power of television.
She isn't above sensationalism. In fact, she excels at it. In October Sarhan's "Hala Show," (she has three programs on the channel) ran what may be best described as a panel discussion on sex. The live audience consisted entirely of trembling young men (it became patently clear why there were no young women in the audience very early on in the proceedings).
Sarhan opened the show with a reminder that children under 16 shouldn't be watching, which of course, is an instant incentive for anyone walking past the television to plant themselves in an armchair. The topic was a terrifically specific one: "The Rising Incidence of Divorce Due to Sexual Incompatibility Due to Drug Use." By chance the issue of masturbation came up as a cause of sexual problems for couples. The press instantly lit into The Hala Show for daring to discuss the issue.
An Egyptian talk show host who claims she was the first woman to break the taboo of discussing sex on Arab television is under fire for tackling an especially delicate issue, masturbation, on a live satellite broadcast. Egyptian newspapers have excoriated Hala, and a government board had warned the broadcaster it could lose its license.
A Muslim cleric appeared on the program and discussed ways to "cure" masturbation, and a female activist said women masturbate, just like men. Part of the discussion was about whether masturbation is a disease, a sin or simply human nature.
She says that Dream "is open to all types of opinions and ideologies -- socialist, western, capitalist, left-wing, right-wing, fanatics and extremists. "We are open to everyone. So this our dream, to let people talk, let people be entertained, let people choose what to believe in and what not to believe in. We believe in being credible first, and second, we believe in entertaining. Entertainment programming in the Arab region has traditionally been considered less important than other types of programming. But media is about entertainment, come on! " –Albawaba.com
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
