A South African photographer’s portrait of an Afghan woman whose husband sliced off her nose and ears in a case of Taliban-administered justice won the World Press Photo award for 2010, one of the industry’s most coveted prizes.
Jodi Bieber’s posed picture, which contrasts the woman’s arresting beauty with the violence done to her after she fled an abusive marriage, was published on the cover of Time magazine on Aug. 1.
Jury members said the photo, though shocking, was chosen because it addresses violence against women with a dignified image. The woman, 18-year-old Bibi Aisha, was rescued by the U.S. military and now lives in America.
“This could become one of those pictures – and we have maybe just 10 in our lifetime – where if somebody says ‘you know, that picture of a girl’ – you know exactly which one they’re talking about,” said jury chairman David Burnett of Contact Press.