Ginella Massa
“Seeing women in hijab on mainstream media platforms allows society
to see hijabi women in a different light. I hope that when people see
me on their screens they might change their attitude about who Muslim women are. We need more spaces for women in hijab to be seen in
positive imagery.”
Growing up Ginella never saw women in hijab on television and that made her think for a while that is was
something that would never happen. However, it was something she really wanted to do and she wanted to
break down those barriers. She pursued her dream job and landed a position as the first Canadian hijabi
news reporter for City News in Toronto. She was told that it would be difficult and the chances of recieving a news position wearing the hijab would be a tough strive but that only motivated her to work harder
to break down those barriers. As the first Canadian hijabi reporter she is allowing people to rethink their
perceptions of Muslim women in our society. A piece of cloth draped around the head should not be the
determining factor on whether or not one is a good reporter. She continuously worked hard to break in
and with the motivation and help of her management team who were willing to take that risk to put her on
air she is now able to be where she has always wanted to be. It’s important to recognize that there is value
in having diversity in the people who present the news and it should be reflective of the society that they
are living in. The reactions have been genuinely positive and there have been commentary where people
say ‘it’s about time.’
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