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 a window - were no longer hers. She was now forced to wear a chadri.
My Forbidden Face provides a poignant and highly personal account of life under the Taliban regime. With painful honesty and clarity Latifa describes the way she watched her world falling apart, in the name of a fanatical interpretation of a faith that she could not comprehend. Her voice captures a lost innocence, but also echoes her determination to live in freedom and hope.
Earlier this year, Latifa and her parents escaped Afghanistan with the help of a French-based Afghan resistance group.

Author: Latifa
Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Piatkus
Published: 10/29/2013
Pages: 192
Weight: 0.3lbs
Size: 7.70h x 5.00w x 0.60d
ISBN: 9781860499616
Revised Edition

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 7.1
Point Value: 8
Interest Level: Upper Grade
Quiz #/Name: 67083 / My Forbidden Face: Growing Up Under the Taliban: A Young Woman's Story

About the Author
In May 2001, Latifa & her parents escaped Afghanistan & were brought to Europe in an operation organized by a French-based Afghan resistance group & Elle Magazine. She speaks Persian and is learning English and French. Latifa is not her real name.