Fathia Ahmed

Fatheya Ahmed (1898 – 5 December 1975), also called Touha, was an Egyptian classical singer and actress who "carried the practice of Waslah into the 20th century". She also sang many traditional and modern melodies on Takht in the tradition of awâlim in which female entertainers perform for women-only audiences during wedding celebrations. She had a “unique mastery of the mawwal”, a traditional and popular Arabic genre of vocal music.

She was known for singing poems and monologues, and sang some folk songs with Sayed Darwish, a popular Egyptian singer and composer. She was featured at the first issue of the Rose al-Yūsuf magazine published in 1925 along with Munîra al-Mahdiyya and Umm Kulthum. She also appeared on magazine covers in rotation with other musicians.

In 1929, she retired from the stage to raise her children. After several years, she made a comeback and regularly performed as the star singer at the musical club of Badia Masabni in Cairo. Fatheya Ahmed was a friend of Umm Kulthum for more than sixty years and performed together on numerous musical events.

She retired in the late 1940s following a chronic illness.

Fatheya Ahmed married Ismail Bey Saîd, a landowner.

Fatheya Ahmed died on 5 December 1975.