Photo: Afghan man cuts off his wife's nose in a fit of rage...

A 22-year-old woman in a remote northern region of Afghanistan had her nose cut off by her husband on Monday, January 18. Fawzia Salimi, a hospital director in Maymana, capital of Fayab province, said the victim Reza Gul was brought early Monday morning having lost a great deal of blood.

Gul's husband, Mohammed Khan, 25, has since fled their village. Ms. Salimi said the Afghan-Turk Hospital in Maymana was trying to arranging transport for Ms. Gul to Turkey for further treatment.

Gul's photograph has sparked online anger, with activists demanding punishment for what one called a ‘barbaric act.’

Faryab Governor's spokesman Ahmad Javed Bedar confirmed the incident to AFP. "Mohammad Khan (the husband) cut off Reza Gul's nose with a pocket knife," he said.

The incident highlights the endemic violence against women in Afghan society.

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

"Such incidents would not happen if the government judicial system severely punished attacks on women," added Alema, who goes by one name.

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.

Bedar said Khan, an unemployed man, had recently returned from neighbouring Iran and may have joined the Taliban after fleeing home following the attack.