Life. Period.

unicef:

Aisha, 18, exposes the wound where her husband cut off her nose, in a shelter in Kabul, the capital. At age 10, Aisha was sent to live with her future husband in Uruzgan Province. She was kept in his stable with farm animals until she reached puberty at age 12. She was then married and regularly beaten by her husband and his family. One year ago, Aisha escaped to a neighbour’s house. The neighbour brought her to a police station in nearby Kandahar Province, where she was imprisoned for running away. Four months later, her father retrieved her from prison and returned her to her husband. Her husband beat her and cut off her ears and nose, then left her in the mountains to die. She was brought to a clinic run by military forces of the United States of America. Aisha spent two months in rehabilitation at the clinic while her wounds healed. She was then taken to a women’s shelter in Kabul. A foundation later paid for Aisha to travel to the United States for reconstructive surgery.

Afghanistan, 2010 © UNICEF/NYHQ2010-1884/Kate Brooks