PIONEER | SEEMA
‘There were a lot of people who didn’t want to see me on TV’ Guts, gumption and good guides. That’s how
Pakistani American broadcast journalist Hena Doba hit the big time ABHIJIT MASIH
W
hen she is not in the studio reading the news off the teleprompter she is in the boxing ring, punching above her weight, as she has always done in life. Going toe-to-toe against norms, stereotypes and biases, shattering many barriers, one step, one punch at a time. Hena Doba is a successful and popular face on TV. Formerly with CBS News in New York, she currently is a host at Cheddar News, where she anchors multiple shows.
22 | SEEMA.COM | AUGUST 2022
As a versatile journalist with over 15 years of experience, she has been a tremendous inspiration for many South Asian and Muslim women who look up to her and aim to be like her. For a woman of color to break into an unconventional domain and to be the first Pakistani American Muslim woman to be on television in the US was riddled with difficulties and compromises. The biggest among them, the pressure to change her name to be more acceptable on air. Thus, she chose Daniels over her family name Zulfiqar
