Tortured Afghan woman Aesha Mohammadzai reveals reconstructed face

AN AFGHAN woman whose abusive husband cut her nose and ears off has revealed the results of reconstructive surgery.

AN AFGHAN woman whose abusive husband cut her nose and ears off has revealed the results of reconstructive surgery.

Aesha Mohammadzai, 22, became a symbol of downtrodden and oppressed Afghan women when her disfigured face appeared on the cover of Time magazine in August, 2010.

She fled to the United States from Afghanistan as an 18-year-old after her husband took her to the mountains, tortured her for trying to escape their arranged marriage and then left her for dead.

She managed to crawl to her grandfather's house who helped her recover. She spent time with a charity in the United States, and now lives with a foster family.

Ms Mohammadzai talked to US television station ITV about the life-changing surgery, declaring: "I'm happy".

To reconstruct her nose, doctors inserted a silicon shell under the skin of her forehead to expand her skin, so they had extra tissue for her new nose.

They used tissue from her arm to form the inner lining and lower part of the nose.

She said she had been abused by her husband and his family mentally and physically.

"Then one day it became unbearable so I ran away," she said.

"They caught me and put me in jail for five months. When I came out the judge sent me back to by husband. That night they took me to the mountains."

She said she wanted to tell a new story about her new life.

"I want to tell all women who are suffering abuse to be strong. Never give up and don't lose hope."

Ms Mohammadzai was promised to a Taliban fighter by her father when she was 12, to pay a debt.