Disfigured Afghan Woman In California For Surgery

The young woman's mutilation after escaping an abusive husband was used by "Time" magazine to illustrate the danger that fundamentalists like the Taliban may pose to Afghan women.

A young Afghan woman who says her nose and ears were cut off as Taliban punishment for fleeing her husband's abusive household has arrived in California for facial reconstruction surgery.

The case of the 18-year-old woman, named as Bibi Aisha, has attracted attention since a portrait showing her mutilated face was published this month on the cover of "Time" magazine. The related article talks about the grave threat that many Afghan women feel if "women's rights...[become] the sacrifice by which peace is achieved" in Afghanistan.

The Grossman Burn Foundation said Aisha arrived in Los Angeles on August 5 and is staying with a host family.

Dr. Peter Grossman, a plastic surgeon and co-director of the Grossman Burn Centers, said he will meet with Aisha to discuss her treatment, which he said is likely to include a prosthetic nose or the reconstruction of her nose with tissue from the rest of her body.

Officials said her treatment is being provided free of charge by the burn center.

compiled from agency reports