My Forbidden Face [Paperback]

My Forbidden Face frames a fragment of Afghanistan's bloody history through the eyes of its author, Latifa. Now 22, Latifa was 16 when the Taliban seized power in 1996. Overnight, Afghani women were stripped of their aspirations, their pleasures and their freedom. She describes the sudden change that transformed her home into her prison and her clothes into symbols of shame in evocative yet matter-of-fact tones. The facts are familiar to us from countless articles and petitions but reading them here in a personal account brings home the state of abject fear Afghani women had to adjust to as the new reality of their lives. Every day Radio Sharia, the Taliban's mouthpiece, would broadcast harsh new decrees to bind the confines of peoples' lives ever tighter. The severest restrictions were reserved for women: they were forbidden to go out unaccompanied by a male relative--which meant poor widows risked beatings and even death, they were forbidden to work or to go to school and even forbidden health care--since that would have meant being treated by a man. From being an educated, outgoing girl who dreamed of becoming a journalist, Latifa was plunged into sickness and depression. But somehow, this timid--and by Western standards--sheltered girl, finds the enormous courage to start running a "school" in her living room--just as her mother, a nurse runs an illicit surgery for women from their home. This combination of naivety and worldliness makes Latifa's voice extremely poignant. My Forbidden Face is a powerful, readable little book you will want to absorb in one gulp. Not only does it give a voice to the nameless sufferings of so many but its bravery and determination are inspiring lessons to us all. --Rebecca Johnson

‘Remarkable account’

‘Thoughtful and affecting ... questions the complacency of Western feminism which has forgotten the many women across the world who still have nothing.’

‘A salutary read for any Western woman, and one that makes you appreciate the freedoms we often take for granted.’

* Poignant first-hand account of life for a young Afghani woman under the Taliban * Like Desert Flower, this simple human story is a powerful way to tell readers around the world of the plight of a people, and this book couldn't be more timely --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Latifa was born into an educated middle-class Afghan family in Kabul in 1980. She dreamed of one day of becoming a journalist, she was interested in fashion, movies and friends. Her father was in the import/export business and her mother was a doctor. Then in September 1996, Taliban soldiers seized power in Kabul. From that moment, Latifa, just 16 years old, became a prisoner in her own home. Her school was closed. Her mother was banned from working. The simplest and most basic freedoms - walking down the street, looking out of a window - were no longer hers. Having never worn even a veil before, she now was forced to wear a chadri. Latifa struggled against an overwhelming sense of helplessness and despair. In a step of defiance, she set up a clandestine school in her home for a small number of young girls. To avoid arousing suspicion, the children were not allowed to attend every day, nor could they keep regular hours. Latifa knew that she was risking her life for something that could change little. But the teaching gave her a reason to get up in the morning. This is Latifa's poignant and highly personal account of life under the Taliban regime. With painful honesty and clarity, she describes the way she watched her world falling apart, in the name of a fanatical faith that she could not comprehend. Her voice captures a lost innocence, but also echoes her determination to live in freedom and hope. Earlier in 2001, Latifa and her parents escaped Afghanistan with the help of a French-based Afghan resistance group.

In May 2001, Latifa and her parents escaped Afghanistan and were brought to Europe in an operation organized by a French-based Afghan resistance group and Elle Magazine. Since then she has been writing My Forbidden Face. She speaks Persian and is learning English and French. Latifa is not her real name.