Last week, an 18 year-old Afghan woman named Aisha fearlessly posed for the cover of Time Magazine; her otherwise beautiful face left horrifically disfigured by her own husband.
18 year-old Afghan woman Aisha's nose and ears were cut off as a punishment for trying to escape her abusive in-laws.
Her crime?
Attempting to run away from said abusive husband and his family.
Despite pleading with her judge, a Taliban commander, that she ran away only because she feared that she would be killed, her brother-in-law held her down while her husband pulled out a knife and cut of her ears, then her nose.
Now, Aisha is under the protection of a women’s shelter in Kabul, and her face has become an iconic symbol. Women in Afghanistan continue to face physical, emotional and social abuse. They need your help.
Barakat continues to provide help and support to women in Afghanistan, weaving ourselves delicately into their society to better understand their norms and expectations.
We work with communities and families to take steps together toward the advancement of women’s rights. Whether it be through our Home-Based Literacy Programs that allow women of all ages who cannot go to school become literate, or our Human Rights Teacher Training that provides teachers with this knowledge, so that they can pass it on to Afghanistan’s children, we at Barakat work with the people of Afghanistan for change.
Help an Afghan woman now.
Written By: Lisa DeBenedictis
yeh i am an afghan girl i live in USA and i think we all should stop this as soon as we can, i would like to tell to aisha to dont worry you are in safe place now. i hope one day my beautiful country Afghanistan we be better so we all can return back to our country….
Violence that women put up with in the world, needs to stop.