Summary Of My Forbidden Face

Many Americans view their country as perfect and free of faults, but there are many times in American history when oppression and inhumanity were the norms. One such time in American history was when Japanese-Americans were forced into internment camps after the attack on Pearl Harbor.had most of their belongings taken away. In the story “My Forbidden Face” by Latifa, the reader is exposed to the oppression and inhumanity of the Taliban in Afghanistan. During both the Japanese internment camps and the occupation of Kabul by the Taliban, access to an education, former jobs, and health care was taken away from a certain demographic of people.
Education for both women and the Japanese-Americans was suspended by the forces that took their rights away for an extended period of time. In “My Forbidden Face,” the Taliban makes a decree that forbids women from getting an education and Latifa makes the remark that there is “No more school for girls”(38). The man in the article wrote that “‘Today was supposed to be my graduation day at Cal’” in his diary(Brown). This shows that in both situations, people had their education disrupted and even suspended. Although the situation in “My Forbidden Face”

is way more extreme and prolonged, the loss of any amount of education has left a lasting effect on both women and the Japanese’s ability to get jobs and be successful in the world.
During both the internment and the Taliban occupation of Kabul, those affected lost their jobs and the ability to support their families.

One of the decrees of the Taliban in “My Forbidden Face” was that “Women and girls are not permitted to work outside of home”(36). When the Japanese were forced into the internment camps, they were subjected to “the forced removal from their homes and jobs” as well(Brown). Without jobs, they were unable to support their families, and when they were able to get jobs again, it was much more difficult to do so. Also, it was much more difficult to get a job since they did not have an ongoing education. Due to these circumstances, the Japanese-Americans and women were left completely vulnerable and unable to get back to where they had been

before.
Medical care for both the Japanese and women was either very limited or nonexistent during the times that they were held captive. In “My Forbidden Face” women were not allowed to receive an education, work, or be operated on by a male, so they were forced into making what they called an “underground medical clinic”(72). During the Japanese internment, there was “‘Ptomaine poisoning in mess hall, 3 or 4 hundred sick’”(Brown). This shows that they did not have adequate medical opportunities, which led to many preventable situations. These situations led to unnecessary deaths and illnesses which could have been prevented with proper medical care.