I am heavily indebted to my research supervisor, Prof. Andrew Cohen, for his guidance throughout this research paper. I would also like to thank Prof. Christopher Dornan for believing in me, for overseeing my initial application to the MJ program, for his encouragement and advice throughout my academic career at the school.
I am grateful to Prof. Janice Tibbetts for her guidance throughout my association with the School of Journalism, and I would like to thank Prof. Susan Harada for her terrific academic support. I must also express gratitude to all my professors and support staff at the School of Journalism from whom I have learned immensely.
I would not have been able to complete this journey without the endless support and encouragement of my dear wife, Maryam Azimy, who has been telling me “you can do it,” and my four beautiful daughters: Muzhda Azimy, Tabasum Azimy, Janat Azimy, Sahar Azimy, and my son Sami Azimy.
Starting and completing this program would not have been possible without the support of my great friends Waheed Massoud, Jennifer Liu, and Dr. Arian M. Sharifi.
My sincere appreciation also goes to all those who agreed to be part of this research and shared their opinion and knowledge with me. I am indebted to those Afghan women who keep the flame of freedom and say no to inequality. This paper is dedicated to them.