Afghani Woman disfigured for leaving husband

Taliban/Islam justice

AMSTERDAM -- 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 Friday, one of photojournalism's most coveted prizes.

Jodi Bieber's posed picture, which contrasts the woman's arresting beauty against the results of the violence done to her after she fled an abusive marriage, was published on the cover of Time magazine Aug. 1.

Bieber is affiliated with the Institute for Artist Management/Goodman Gallery.

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 what you're talkng about," said jury chairman David Burnett of Contact Press.

The picture also gains part of its resonance from its similarity with the iconic 1984 National Geographic photograph of a beautiful young Afghan woman with a piercing gaze.

The publication of the picture provoked international debate over the ethics of publishing -- or not publishing -- such a disturbing image.

"It's a terrific picture, a different picture, a frightening picture," said Juror Vince Aletti, an American freelance critic. "It's so much about not just this particular woman, but the state of women in the world."

Although established photo agencies and press bureaus won a fair share of honors for 2010, a trend toward freelancers and unaffiliated photographers continued to grow.

Getty Images and Panos each won in five categories, while Reuters had three and The Associated Press and Agence France-Presse each had two.

One of the biggest winners in the news categories, Daniel Morel of Haiti, is involved in a legal dispute over the republication of his photos by mainstream news outlets after he put them on a website. Someone else spotted them, claimed ownership, and sold them to AFP.

Morel won first place in the Spot News Stories category for his series on the Jan. 12 earthquake and its immediate aftermath. He also took second place in the Spot News Singles category for an image of a woman trapped under rubble being rescued.

In all, 56 photographers of 23 nationalities won prizes. They competed among a record pool of 108,059 photos by 5,847 photographers participating from 125 countries.

In an unusual step, the jury gave special mention to a 12-picture series of photogranhs made by the miners trapped for 69 days in the San Jose mine in Chile, 700 meters underground, before they were rescued on Oct. 13.

Bieber, the overall winner, also won first place in the portraits category for the same photo. She will receive a cash prize of euro10,000 in a ceremony later this year.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/02/11/photo-disfigured-afghan-woman-wins-prize/#ixzz1Des82FLU