The mutilated Afghan girl featured on a controversial Time magazine cover unveiled a new nose at a California benefit this weekend, where she was also honored with a prestigious award.
ABC reports that 19-year-old 'Bibi' Aisha looked cheerful and stylish as she accepted the Enduring Heart Award from the Grossman Burn Foundation, the Los Angeles-based humanitarian organization that is providing her with eight months of reconstructive procedures. While she continues to undergo treatment, Aisha has been provided with a Hollywood-style prosthetic nose which she can apply herself daily in the meantime.
On hand to present Aisha with her award was Maria Shriver, wife of California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. "This is the first Enduring Heart award given to a woman whose heart endures and who shows us all what it means to have love and to be the enduring heart," Shriver reportedly told the crowd. Also attending the ceremony was former first lady Laura Bush, whose work has touched on the plight of Afghan women.
Aisha, who has never revealed her surname for fear of reprisal, told Time that her nose and ears had been cut off by her Taliban fighter husband after she ran away. She had been married at 18 as part of a "blood debt" after her uncle killed one of her husband's relatives.
Watch video of Aisha accepting her award here: