"Childhood, Media and Marriage" Mona El-Shazly reveals her secrets with Anas Bukhash

Media personality Mona El-Shazly revealed many details that are being told for the first time about her childhood, her relationship with her parents, how she entered the media field by chance, and how her relationship with her husband and the father of her daughters began more than 25 years ago.

During her interview on the ABtalks program, with the media figure Anas Bukhash , she said that she is from the Egyptian middle class, adding: “My father and mother are from the great sixties generation, which cares about the human being’s formation and essence before anything else, so I grew up interested in the essence before appearance, loving my surroundings and not hating anything. There is no food that I hate, no person that I hate. If I am upset with someone, I avoid them or eliminate them from my life, but the word hate is difficult for my formation.”

I was not spoiled Mona El-Shazly explained to Anas Bukhash that she was not spoiled by her upbringing, but her father would always repeat the hadith, “Be rough, for blessings do not last,” and he was keen to educate them and instill in them a love of reading through the home library, adding: “My mother was also diligent and keen in raising me, my brother and my sister. We learned to write from an early age, from the age of about two and a half, and thus school became an easy matter later on.”

She continued: "I grew up in a family that gave me psychological well-being, great love for the universe, and good intentions in the world. My father volunteered in the 1956 war during the tripartite aggression against Egypt. He volunteered in the popular resistance. My father is a very nice man, but he never boasted about the many nice things he did."

I learned from my father She added, speaking about her father: “I learned morals from him. He is the epitome of culture and knowledge, and also the epitome of simplicity. He taught me that nothing in the world calls for bragging. Boasting remains in action and the self, and how much you have left a good impression on those around you, even if it is a very small family.”

As for the beginnings of her entry into the media field, Mona El-Shazly indicated that she had wished to become a doctor and not a media professional, but at the same time she was always participating in the school radio, and when she studied media at the American University she used to present parties and student events, but she did not imagine that she would become a broadcaster, but rather she wanted to graduate and then work in one of the major media companies.

I refused the media at first. Contrary to expectations, when she was in her final year of study, specifically 6 months before graduation, a colleague told her that she was receiving training in a new channel network called ART, and that they would choose male and female broadcasters from this training, and that she was fit to be a broadcaster, and would even achieve great success.

Mona refused to apply, but with her colleague’s insistence, she decided to come with them one day to write a report to publish at the university about this training. She actually went and sat a little far away to take notes, and at that time the trainer decided to ask them several questions in various fields, but no one answered except Al-Shazly.

Then he asked her, "Who are you? Why don't you join us?" He offered her to join them to work as a broadcaster, and when she refused, he insisted that she do a "test camera" so that the procedures for her travel to Italy could be completed during the remaining months of her studies.

Little Mona, who was in her early twenties at the time, told her parents about the matter. At first, her brother objected to her traveling alone, but the father settled the matter and agreed to it, stressing his great confidence in his daughter and her correct choices, and that she would always be up to the responsibility.

She added in her interview with Anas Bukhs : “I did not seek to work as a broadcaster, nor do I know anyone, but life shows us generosity in some places, and it can be stingy with us in other places. From that day on, I made a promise to myself that I would help anyone who is good anywhere, because those who helped me and brought me into the field, there was no previous acquaintance or interest between us.”

Mona El Shazly traveled with two things in mind that no one knew about and she would stick to them no matter what happened. The first was that she would only stay in Italy for two years, because she didn’t want to stay abroad any longer. The second was that she wouldn’t fall in love there. She actually fulfilled her first promise and returned after a year and a half, but she didn’t succeed in the second, as she fell in love for the first and last time there.

Mona El Shazly's marriage Mona El Shazly met her current husband for the first time in Italy. Their relationship was bad at first, they couldn't stand each other, but as the days passed, they formed a group of friends and they would meet at group outings. Then their relationship began to strengthen until they fell in love. He came to her father asking to marry her, so they got married and had three daughters. Their marriage has been going on for 25 years.

Speaking about her husband, Mona El-Shazly confirmed that they are very different in interests, hobbies, and other things, but this difference creates joy, integration, and passion for new things in life between them, stressing that her husband is affectionate and a great family man, but he has a way of expressing love that is different from hers.

When asked about the basics of a happy and healthy marriage, El-Shazly confirmed that a happy marriage begins with upbringing before marriage, saying: “Boys and girls are raised to bear responsibility. Love is one thing and married life is another. If your shoulders cannot bear responsibility, do not get married. You must raise your children to bear the pressures of life and accept that there are problems and shocks, yes, but they will overcome them. Otherwise, it will be a marriage of children and they will quarrel, become impersonators and leave each other.”

Regarding her continued work until now, despite having reached advanced stages of success many years ago, El-Shazly explained that she is one of the lucky ones who feel love and respect for their profession, adding: “I love my job and respect it and I do not consider it a stepping stone to something else. I see it as a goal, enjoyment and a message, even if I am presenting a light segment.”

She concluded her speech: “My job is that when I present something to you, I don’t take up your time, and even when you laugh or have fun, there is no vulgarity. There is also a responsibility, because any segment I present, I make sure that it will not hurt you as a viewer, and will add to your time, and that the maximum effort will be put into it, because this is more than enough to make the conscience comfortable.”