Forced to marry a Taliban fighter at just 12, Bibi Aisha Mohammadzai suffered years of abuse and cruelty at the hands of her husband. After attempting to flee, she was jailed and then released back into her husband’s custody, only to be mercilessly attacked, mutilated and left to die. Bibi Aisha managed to make her way to hospital and ultimately to safety, leaving for a new life in America where, following years of painful recovery and 31 reconstructive surgeries, she has bravely rebuilt her life with plans of nursing and helping others.

“I decided that I want to survive.”

In 2010, Bibi Aisha was featured on the cover of Time magazine, exposing the brutality and violence of the Taliban in her native Afghanistan. Thirteen years on, Angelina Jolie spoke to Bibi Aisha for Time about her experience; TYTW founder and Pulitzer prize-winner Stephanie Sinclair photographed Aisha afterwards at her Maryland home.