Headlining in Hijab

Born and raised in Connecticut, 25-year-old Ayah Galal broadcasts local news into homes across the state.

BY HABEEBA HUSAIN

While many Americans would describe their workday as the typical “9 to 5,” local television news reporter Ayah Galal cannot say the same.

“I have a pretty unique schedule — my shift starts at 3 a.m.,” the 25-year-old Connecticut native says.

That means her alarm is set for 1:30 in the morning to give her enough time to wake up, shower, get ready and look over emails from producers containing her assignments for the morning news live broadcast. By 4:30 a.m., she is in front of the camera filming her first live shot for the show.

“Every day is something different,” says the Quinnipiac University alumna. “I could be reporting on weather conditions one day and the next, reporting on the latest on the Coronavirus.”

That spontaneity of each day is one of the things Galal loves most about her job. But being a journalist was not always on her radar.

Galal entered her college career on the pre-medicine track, but quickly learned that advanced calculus and biology courses were not for her.

“My parents were very adamant about me doing something that I was passionate about and I enjoyed,” she says of her Egyptian immigrant parents.

After some soul searching, this lifelong lover of reading and writing decided to pursue journalism and political science. The pairing was quite fitting for a girl who made her high school morning announcements and dutifully watched the NBC Nightly News on television every evening with her family at dinner time.

Galal got involved at Q30TV, her university’s television station, trying her hand at both on-screen anchoring and reporting. From there, she landed an internship at News 8, a Connecticut ABC-affiliate, where she shadowed reporters and producers during the summer of 2017. That gig eventually turned into a behind-the-scenes producer job at the channel.

At first, Galal thought behind-the-scenes was the only job she could land due to her hijab and the increased anti-Muslim sentiment during and after the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

“I’ve seen the way that Muslims are often misrepresented in the media. Things like that were always in the back of my mind as I was starting to apply for jobs,” Galal said. “I started having doubts that any TV station would want to hire someone who wears a hijab … I talked myself out of going after an on-air position.”

Although she learned a lot and enjoyed her producer role at News 8, she longed for the on-air life she had experienced during her Q30TV days. Her coworkers were supportive of her endeavors and encouraged her to go after her dream instead of settling.

“I ended up going in on my days off, working on putting a reporting reel together and trying to get more experience out in the field in front of the camera,” Galal says. “Al-hamdu lillah (all praises due to God). It wasn’t easy, but I did land a position at Channel 3 where I was able to report and produce.”

The CBS-affiliated Channel 3 granted her a hybrid position that involved producing behind the camera, reporting, filming her own stories and conducting her own interviews. After proving herself capable of her craft, which included donning so many hats, she accepted a full-time reporter position at the station about a year ago.

“Being able to see things from the behindthe-scenes aspect has made me a stronger reporter because I know what producers are expecting timing-wise, story length-wise, things like that,” she says. “Al-hamdu lillah, I think it ended up really helping me become a better reporter.”

Galal reports on local news in Connecticut, and the assignments vary greatly each morning. She never knows what she’s going to get — crime, politics, local businesses, weather, or, of course, the Coronavirus.

The pandemic has played a huge role in news coverage so far — from forcing reporters to stay in the newsroom, to conducting socially distanced interviews and to even infecting Galal herself earlier this year.

“There is always that risk in the back of your mind. You don’t know what you could be exposed to,” she says, now thankfully recovered. “[But] it also shows the importance of the work that journalists are doing right now — our job in educating the public

AFTER SOME SOUL SEARCHING, THIS LIFELONG LOVER OF READING AND WRITING DECIDED TO PURSUE JOURNALISM AND POLITICAL SCIENCE. THE PAIRING WAS QUITE FITTING FOR A GIRL WHO MADE HER HIGH SCHOOL MORNING ANNOUNCEMENTS AND DUTIFULLY WATCHED THE NBC NIGHTLY NEWS ON TELEVISION EVERY EVENING WITH HER FAMILY AT DINNER TIME.

on the importance of getting vaccinated, trying to report the truth and stop the spread of misinformation and, ultimately, educating the public on what they can be doing for their own health and safety.”

Galal’s journalistic work is certainly important, as she says — today’s Covid-19 world would call it “essential.” She is a part of many early birds’ morning routine across Connecticut and even gets recognized while out and about from time to time, whether it is thanks to her hijab or her voice.

“People get really excited to be able to meet someone they see on TV,” she says. “It’s always nice meeting viewers, especially the really devout Channel 3 fans who wake up early to watch our morning newscast … it means a lot when people take the time to stop and say hello.”

While Galal has always called Connecticut home, she is open to branching out to a larger city in the future, if that’s God’s plan for her. For now, she is happy to broadcast the news to her home state, especially to fellow young Muslims.

“I just want them to know they should not doubt themselves or think that their faith will get in the way of an opportunity,” Galal says. “If there’s something you want to do, or if there’s something you want to accomplish, go after it. You do your best, and you leave the rest to Allah.”

After overcoming her own initial doubts, that’s exactly what Galal did. Through the help of God, she accomplished her goal of reporting the headlines all while wearing her hijab. ih

Habeeba Husain is a freelance journalist based in the New York tri-state area. She helps manage Muslim-run businesses WuduGear and Kamani. Her work has appeared in SLAM Magazine, WhyIslam. org, and Narrative.ly, among other online and print publications. Connect with her on Twitter @HabeebaHusain. The world we live in is constantly evolving and ISNA is committed to being a positive driver of change. ISNA has long recognized the importance of engaging with other faith communities as a fundamental part of its mission, and therefore, we continuously host and participate in interfaith events, meetings and webinars to educate our friends, partners, officials and activists about Islam.

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