Poster girl of Taliban terror gets new nose

[General Veers]

Poster girl of Taliban terror gets new nose

Published Oct 14 2010

A young Afghan girl, who went on to become a poster girl of Taliban oppression in Afghanistan after her nose was sliced off by her militant husband, has unveiled her new face to the world. 19-year-old Aisha triggered a worldwide outpouring of sympathy after her plight was highlighted by the Time magazine which put her on the front cover to draw attention to sufferings of women in Afghanistan.

The girl, thanks to pioneering surgery by American surgeons, got a new nose and appeared before the cameras to receive an Enduring Heart Award by a foundation which paid for her operation in Los Angeles, The Telegraph reported on Wednesday.Aisha was 12 when her father married her to a Taliban fighter to repay a debt.

Aisha on the cover of TIME magazine before her surgery, left, and, right, after her prosthetic nose was fitted ​

​

After she was handed over to the fighter`s family, she was abused and made to sleep in a stable with animals, and when she was caught trying to escape, her nose and ears were sliced off by her husband as punishment. After being left for dead in the mountains, Aisha crawled to her grandfather's house from where she was rushed to an American medical facility. "When they cut off my nose and ears, I passed out.

In the middle of the night it felt like there was cold water in my nose. I opened my eyes and I couldn't even see because of all the blood," she revealed. The Grossman Burn Foundation flew her to America in August where she had a prosthetic nose fitted at the West Hills hospital and the doctors say she would be given a "more permanent" solution soon.

This might involve rebuilding her nose and ears, using bone, tissue and cartilage from other parts of the body. Till then, Aisha is back to her old joyful ways. "This is an award given to a woman whose heart endures," said the Californian first lady Maria Shriver, wife of governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who presented the award to the Afghan girl who never thought she would see life again.

Despite the ordeal she had gone through, Aisha, whose surname has never been disclosed, was grateful to have a new life and face. "Thank you so much," she said. Aisha`s case has been used in the West to illustrate the fear of what will happen if US, British and other international forces leave prematurely.