Dr. Zainab Abdurrahman: The First Black Woman to Lead Ontario’s Medical Association — and the System Better Be Ready

They never saw her coming.
And even if they did — they never thought she’d get this far.

Dr. Zainab Abdurrahman has just been appointed the first Black woman president of the Ontario Medical Association (OMA) — a 143-year-old institution that’s never once seen leadership that looks like us. She’s not just breaking ceilings. She’s breaking generational curses.

Let’s be clear: this isn’t just another “first.” This is a deep disruption of a medical system that has historically excluded Black voices from decision-making rooms while disproportionately harming Black bodies in hospitals.

And now? One of ours will be representing 43,000 doctors across the province. That means advocacy. That means policy. That means pushing back against a system that too often works for them, not for us.

From Invisible to Unignorable

For far too long, Black women in medicine have had to be twice as good for half the recognition. We’ve been overlooked, underestimated, and overworked — treated as background help even while we carried entire communities on our backs.

But Dr. Abdurrahman’s appointment flips that script. A proud Muslim, a Black woman, and a fierce physician — she brings the lived experience that too many in those ivory towers lack. She knows what it’s like to walk into a hospital and be second-guessed — not because of your training, but because of your skin.

And now? She’ll be the one helping set the standard.

This Is Bigger Than Her

This appointment isn’t just a personal achievement. It’s a collective victory. A win for the little Black girl in Toronto who’s told she’s “too loud” to lead. A win for the Nigerian auntie whose complaints were ignored until it was too late. A win for every Black medical student who’s been mistaken for a janitor on their own rotation.

And yes — it’s a challenge to them, too. To the gatekeepers. To the institutions that never planned for a day like this. Because when Black women lead, we don’t lead alone. We bring the whole damn village with us.

The Fight Isn’t Over

Don’t get comfortable. Symbolism is cute, but we want results. We want culturally competent care. We want anti-Black racism rooted out of healthcare policy. We want investment in Black mental health. And we want Black physicians — especially women — protected, respected, and paid what they’re owed.

Dr. Abdurrahman’s leadership is a beginning — not a finish line.

We’ve entered the room. Now we’re re-writing the rules.