Published on 12:00 AM, August 08, 2010

Mutilated Afghan girl in US for new nose


The Afghan girl featured on a controversial Time magazine cover is in the US to have her nose rebuilt.
Aisha told Time her nose and ears had been cut off - with the approval of a Taliban commander - by her abusive husband as punishment for running away.
The front cover generated debate over the headline "What Happens if We Leave Afghanistan" and the use of the photo itself.
Her surgery is being done by the Grossman Burn Foundation in California.
The foundation campaigns on the issue of violence against women as well as doing free plastic surgery work.
Aisha, whose surname has not been revealed, will meet surgeon Peter Grossman next week to discuss the reconstruction of her nose.
The 18-year-old was reportedly given away by her family in childhood as a "blood debt" and was subsequently married to a Taliban fighter.
His family abused her and she ran away but was recaptured and mutilated by her husband.
Women for Afghan Women has been using Aisha's case to illustrate the fear of what will happen if US, British and other international forces leave prematurely. The Afghan-American group helps to run the shelter which took Aisha in.