Thaindian News

London, August 7 (ANI): Aisha, the Afghan girl whose controversial photograph depicting her disfigured face on a Time magazine cover attracted international attention, is presently in the United States to have her nose rebuilt.

The 18-year-old girl’s nose and ears had been sliced off with the approval of a Taliban commander by her abusive husband as punishment for running away, setting an example for other wives to think twice before trying to escape their abusive in-laws.

According to the BBC, the Grossman Burn Foundation in California, that campaigns on the issue of violence against women as well as doing free plastic surgery work, has volunteered to conduct her surgery.

Aisha is scheduled to meet surgeon Peter Grossman next week to discuss the reconstruction of her nose.

She was reportedly given away by her family in childhood as a “blood debt” and was subsequently married to a Taliban fighter, whose family kept on abusing her until she decided to run away. However, she was recaptured and mutilated by her husband.

‘Women for Afghan Women,’an NGO concerned with human rights and women’s rights in Afghanistan, has been using Aisha’s case to illustrate the fear of what will happen if US, British and other international forces leave the country prematurely.

Earlier, the Time magazine’s front cover generated debate over the headline “What Happens if We Leave Afghanistan” and the use of the photo itself.

“This violence happened while the international forces were in Afghanistan, so the logic leading to the conclusion that things would necessarily be worse if ‘we’ left isn’t exactly clear,” Krista Riley, a contributor to a Muslim media blog, wrote after her case was highlighted by the magazine. (ANI)