Finding feminism in autobiography
One of my artist friends once asked me about my readings on feminism. She wanted to know what I read for knowing more about the Indian feminism. My answer was simple. I told her that I read autobiographies of Indian women for knowing more about the Indian feminism rather than theoretical treatises. I believe that autobiographies of known and unknown women construct as well as contest the gender politics of the time. ‘My Forbidden Face’ by Latifa though she is from Afghanistan confirms my belief in autobiographical narratives of women.
My Forbidden Face is the story of a young woman who grew up in Afghanistan under the tyrannical regime of Taliban. Latifa is a pseudo name that she uses for protecting her real identity as well as protecting her family and friends from the ruthless ire of the Taliban. Born in 1980 in Kabul, Latifa’s dream to become a journalist was shattered in 1997 as Taliban took over Afghanistan and put all the women inside the four walls of houses. A sixteen year old vibrant Latifa was closed within the rooms of their apartment and developed her gender identity in relation to various women who used to come to her mother, who was medical practitioner, for treatment.
Latifa quietly observed and made her own concept of being a woman who wants to be a good wife and a mother with strong will. The aimless teachings at madarsas and the wandering children frustrated her so much that she decided to establish a school with the help of her family and friends. They taught one child at a time and silently defied the diktats of the Taliban regime.
In 2001 a French organization and Elle magazine invited some Afghani women to France to tell their stories. A doctor friend of Latifa told her and her mother to go Paris for this. So Latifa with her parents and a friend travelled to Paris in 2001 and narrated their stories with hidden faces in chadris. But after several weeks, their flight from Afghanistan was discovered and Taliban government issued fatwa against them. Thus they became exiles in France. This book is written in exile with the help of Shekeba Hachemi, Founder of Aghanistan Libre, who works for the freedom of Afghan women.
When Latifa ponders on the issue of ‘Who speaks for Afghanistan?’ she makes a comment after arriving at Paris, ‘ While men talk about politics, Mama, Diba and I speak only about women, and how we have been robbed of our voices and our rights, oppressed as the designated victims of a systematic purge..’ Starting from her very personal and immediate experience Latifa connects it to the life of all those women whose words are locked away.
This brings me to one more point in relation to the genre of autobiographies. The autobiographies help the gender politics to cross over the geo-political boundaries which are constructed on the basis of the patriarchal structure of a family. Reading this book has brought back the visuals of Rumanna Hussain’s photographic installation ‘Home/Nation’ in me. In this installation Rumanna has constructed the narration through the fragments of Mughal architecture and her personal life images in relation with the religious concepts which changed drastically after the Babri Masjid demoilition in 1992/3. Like Latifa, Rumanna also does not feel a difference between dislocation due to the politico-religious reason as well as dislocation due to other social stigma. That’s why in same space she also includes a photogaphic narration of a woman (who was her maid) who died due to suspected AIDS.
Latifa’s description of the Afghani women as a group in Chadris brings out a feeling of complete detachment with the generic identification of women in Burquas as weaklings. |
