Essay on My Forbidden Face

even though they said they were following the Koran. At one point, a woman went outside covered only with a chador on while holding the Koran to her breast. The Taliban immediately started attacking her, when the lady shouted, “You have no right! Look at what is written in the Koran! ” However, the Taliban ignored her, and when the Koran fell from her arms, the Taliban continued beating her, instead of picking the Koran off of the ground, where it should never be placed on. (Latifa 52) Another example of the similarity between the two is the medical issues. The Taliban state in their long line of decrees that, “No male physician may touch the body of a woman under the pretext of a medical examination.

(Latifa 37) What this meant is that women could no longer go to male doctors, because that could be punishable by death, and since all the women were stripped of their jobs, there were no female doctors for them to be cared for by. However, after a while, Latifa’s mother was soon examining women and diagnosing them, even though it was illegal. (63) Soon, she sees three young girls who were raped by fifteen Talibans, who then injured them greatly. Dr. Sima soon comes over to help, and afterwards, Dr.Sima agrees with Mama to pick up where she left, and continues her underground woman’s medical clinic. (Latifa 68-72) A third example of this atrocity would be the clothing restrictions. The Taliban stated that every women and girl must wear a chadri, which is a dress that conceals the whole body, and not come out in public without one on.

(Latifa 36) These clothing laws even extended into the forms of different laws, such as not being able to wear lipstick or nail polish, not being able to wear brightly colored clothes under the chadri, and not being allowed to wear makeup. (Latifa 37) These laws restricted women even further and even more so in special cases. For instance, when Latifa finally goes out of the house with Farida and her brother, Saber, they pass a group of women. Soon after the pass them, a group of Talibans screech to a halt in a 4 x 4 vehicle, and beat these women. Latifa, Saber, and Farida run away, as the women scream for help. Saber later tells Farida and Latifa why they were beaten. He says, “They beat the women for white shoes.

White is the color of the Taliban flag, so women are not allowed to wear white. White shoes mean they’re trampling on the flag! ” (51-52) A fourth and final example of degrading women would be education. One of the laws the Taliban made was that women can no longer go to school. (Latifa 14) This meant that Latifa, even though she had just passed the first part of the entrance exam for the journalism department. (32) However, soon after this law was made, Mrs. Fawzia, a former teacher of Latifa, made an underground school for children. This school lasted until the Taliban caught her in the middle of teaching. They beat her and the children, threw her down the stairs where she broke a leg, and put her in prison until she signed a document saying she would never disobey a Taliban

law again. (122) Latifa and Farida soon start an underground school, with another one of their friends, named Maryam, picking up where Mrs.Fawzia left off. They soon take in 8 children, 5 girls and 3 boys, boys who their parents do not want to be raised by the Taliban. The girls’ ages are fourteen, two seven year old twins, a six year old, and a five year old. They boys are seven and two five year olds.

They teach these children mathematics, reading, history, and composition, and another friend handles English. (126-127) By doing these things, they are not giving in completely to Taliban laws, and are holding strong and true to what they believe in, even if they risk death, and must be done in secrecy. In conclusion, these similarities have devastated all women in Afghanistan, however, some people took a stand against these laws, and helped others, and, over time, themselves.

Bibliography

1. My Forbidden Face : Growing up under the Taliban - A Young Woman's Story. New York: Hyperion P, 2003.