Retired Egyptian actress Hala Shiha's recent announcement on social media that she would make a comeback soon has stirred wide controversy in Egypt, rekindling the debate on the hijab.

Shiha, 39, quit her acting career in 2005 after deciding to wear the hijab, the headscarf traditionally worn by Muslim women. In August 2017, Shiha provoked an outcry when she posted a picture of herself on Facebook in a niqab, the full face veil. Vowing never to take it off or to return to acting, she urged her fans not to share her old pictures as an actress so as "not to sin."

Now, after more than a decade, Shiha has had a change of heart. In recent days, she has shed her Islamic attire altogether in preparation for her return to cinema and the small screen. The move has sparked heated debate between liberals and ultra-conservatives in a country that has been polarized since the June 2013 ouster of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi by military-backed protests.

A picture of Shiha without her headscarf, published on Aug. 8 by dentist Mohamed Emad on his Facebook page, quickly went viral on social media.