Reza Gul, 20, was attacked by her husband on Sunday after arguing with him over his decision to take a 6- or 7-year-old niece as his fiancée, Gul's mother, Zarghona, told the Times. Gul's husband, Muhammad Khan, 25, then allegedly cut off her nose with a knife. Khan and his family had beaten and abused Gul throughout her six-year marriage, Zarghona added.
Khan had now
disappeared from the village, and local security forces including the
intelligence agency and police were searching for him.
Before
cutting off his wife's nose, Khan had promised Taliban leaders in the village
that he would stop harming Gul.
Severing
women's noses is not unheard of in Afghanistan and like most abuse probably
happens more often than is publicly acknowledged.
The
disfigured woman's photograph was widely shared on social media, prompting
calls for tough action against the husband.
Kabul-based
women's rights activist Alema said: 'Such a brutal and barbaric act should be
strongly condemned.
'Such incidents
would not happen if the government judicial system severely punished attacks on
women.'
It was not
immediately clear what prompted the husband to attack Gul, the mother of a
one-year-old child who was married off five years ago as a teenager.
According to
the U.N., Afghanistan remains one of the worst places to be a woman, and
violence against women remains "endemic." Child marriages, like the
one Khan was said to be arranging, are also common, robbing girls of the
opportunity for education and often leading to abuse.
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