Acclaimed Saudi writer Sharifa Al Shamlan dies of COVID-19

Cairo: Prominent Saudi woman writer Sharifa Al Shamlan, famous for her press columns and literary writings, had died due to complications of COVID-19, local media reported. Her age was not disclosed.

Al Shamlan has to her name a series of studies and opinion pieces published in several Saudi newspapers including Asharq Al Awsat, Al Jazirah and Al Riyadh.

A holder of a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the Baghdad University in Iraq, she held several posts, including the director-general of women’s social supervision in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province.

She also founded a female human rights office linked to the Saudi Human Rights Commission in the Eastern Province. She participated in several conferences and seminars inside and outside Saudi Arabia.

Seen as a leading voice in the Saudi literature, Al Shamlan published six collections of short stories including “Very Quiet”, “Scenes from Life” and “Tomorrow Comes”.

She was buried Thursday in the Saudi eastern city of Dammam on Thursday in a limited funeral due to coronavirus-related restrictions.