Hegazi reported being fired from her job for opposing the Sisi regime in Egypt. Hegazi identified as a communist and supported the Bread and Freedom Party while living in Egypt, and became involved with the Spring Socialist Network once in Canada.
Through distance learning, Hegazi completed certificates in 'Fighting for Equality: 1950–2018', 'Feminism and Social Justice', 'Research Methods', 'Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace', and 'Understanding Violence' at Columbia University, University of California Santa Cruz, SOAS University of London, the University of Pittsburgh, and Emory University. In 2010, Hegazi graduated from Thebas Academy with a bachelor's degree in Information Systems and the American University in Cairo Continuing Education Center in 2016. Hegazi wore the hijab until she came out as a lesbian in 2016. Pictures of a young Hegazi in conservative Islamic garb, including a hijab, surfaced after her death. She helped her mother take care of her siblings after her father, a high school science teacher, died. Hegazi was born in 1989 to an Egyptian conservative middle-class family she was the eldest of four siblings.
