Dahabieh Gabi

Dahabieh Elias Asfoura, professionally known as Dahabieh Gabi, is a veteran radio and television presenter whose career in Qatar began in the early 1970s. Celebrated for her voice, screen presence and cultural breadth, she presented news and pioneering social and medical programmes that combined public service with audience engagement.

The professional name Gabi came from the husband who accompanied and supported her over many years. Their children built careers of their own: Elias and Lubna became dentists in Qatar; Dalia studied dentistry before moving into aviation in Qatar; and Layal completed a master’s degree in marketing in Britain. All four married, and the family grew to include eight grandchildren.

She grew up in Amman, Jordan, and began professional life there as a teacher with a strong love of Arabic. The beauty and clarity of her voice were already apparent; one pupil told her that it sounded like a radio presenter’s voice, an observation that seemed to anticipate the career ahead.

Marriage took her not simply from one home to another, but into another country, culture and professional world. She married a bank employee working in Qatar and moved with him in 1968. After a short period at home, she sought work both to support him and to fulfil her own abilities. In 1971, her first professional position in Qatar was teaching English to the first generation of nursing students at the Nursing School for Girls.

A chance encounter then changed her path. Mustafa Abu Al-Hawa—may God have mercy on him—a friend of her husband working in the engineering department at Qatar Radio, heard qualities in her voice suited to broadcasting and encouraged her to apply. The moment she entered the station, she was drawn to its atmosphere and returned home determined to join the field.

Her broadcasting career began on a freelance basis in 1973 alongside the late Suad Hassan, presenter of ‘Family Corner’, and she passed the first voice test. She then presented the pioneering and highly successful ‘Whispers in the Night’ with Muhammad Al-Ma’adadi and later Maher Al-Rayes.

A distinctive radio voice was matched by charisma, culture and a strong screen presence. In 1974, Qatar Television recruited her as a news presenter. Within a remarkably short period, she won a wide audience; a visiting Lebanese journalist titled an article about her, ‘A presenter to whose voice people fell asleep and to whose image they awoke.’

Her television work encompassed many successful programmes, some of them firsts in the Middle East. Awards included three prizes at the Television Festival in Kuwait, the Best Presenter award in an Al-Raya newspaper poll and the Best Presenter award for ‘Doctors on Air’. That programme brought together physicians from Qatar and abroad, among them Dr Hajar Ahmed Hajar during his tenure as Minister of Health. She also received the Best Arab Presenter award, while Abdullah Al-Husseini gave her the title ‘Lady of the Qatari Screen’.

Television was never merely an occupation to her. She treated it as a public-service mission through which awareness could be raised and damaging social practices addressed. That sense of responsibility also extended beyond the screen: working with a verification team, she helped direct financial assistance towards people with special needs in Qatar and abroad, supported by donations from citizens and residents.

One of the most influential ‘Doctors on Air’ episodes exposed fraudulent claims that paralysis could be cured in the Philippines through massage rather than surgery. The idea, developed with Dr Hajar, used a staged demonstration: she appeared as the practitioner examining an actor while the doctor, hidden behind a curtain, supplied a piece of human intestine and blood to simulate an operation. The actor then stood and claimed recovery. The controversial broadcast showed viewers how easily desperate patients could be deceived, and the number travelling to the Philippines for the false treatment fell significantly.

Throughout her media career, she never felt separate from Qatari society. She shared its national occasions, joys, grief and everyday concerns, and viewers noticed when she was absent from live holiday coverage. Her field reporting also included Qatar Television’s early coverage of the storming of the Sabra and Shatila camps. Some stories led to direct intervention, including cases of children experiencing domestic violence that were presented to Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser. The children were returned to their families only after undertakings were secured to protect them from further harm.

‘Doctors on Air’ also helped change medical procedure. During a live edition with three doctors, a caller wept as she described being unable to afford in vitro fertilisation and appealed to Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser. The presenter then appealed to His Highness the Father Amir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani and Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser for free treatment not only for the caller but for all non-Qatari women prevented from having children by medical conditions. The following day, Her Highness telephoned with approval from His Highness the Father Amir. The caller later gave birth, a result that moved the presenter deeply.

Her audience extended well beyond Qataris and Arab residents. A woman from the Indian community named her daughter Dahabieh Gabi in her honour, confirming the personal connection the broadcaster had hoped to create and the enduring place she occupied in viewers’ memories.