Afgan man slices off wife's nose

A photograph of an Afghan woman whose nose was sliced off by her husband in a fit of rage has sparked revulsion across the country, with activists demanding punishment for the "barbaric act".

Reza Gul, 20, was taken to hospital after she was attacked with a pocket knife on Sunday by her husband who is said to be on the run.

"My husband (Mohammad Khan) tied up my hands and cut off my nose," Mrs Gul told AFP in a frail voice from her hospital bed, with a white bandage on her face.

"He tortured me a lot," she added, with her one-year-old baby wailing by her side.

"Such a brutal and barbaric act should be strongly condemned," Kabul-based women's rights activist Alema told AFP.