Exploring the Internal and External Attributes of Rising Fear: A Study of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Women Journalists

Abstract

he objective of this study is to explore the factors behind fear factors that are compelling women journalists to go for self-censorship. This study documents the concept of self-censorship adopted largely by women journalists in Pakistan. The idea behind doing so is to safeguard themselves in various situations, particularly in times of distress and serious matters from pressure groups and threatening bodies. The study at hand is qualitative in nature where in-depth interviews were done. Seven women journalists from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa – Pakistan, were interviewed with an experience of 10years at least in the field of journalism and survived the terror attacks while providing their dedication to the field of journalism. Respondents of the study were selected through purposive sampling, and thematic-analysis was acquired to generate meanings from the data collected. The results show that fear has different variables that affect everyone differently. The greater the fear triggering women journalists, the greater will be the sense of self-censorship adopted.