The front cover for Time Magazine for Volums 176 No 6 to be launched on 9 August 2010

It is a portrait of Aisha, a shy 18-year-old Afghan woman who was sentenced by a Taliban commander to have her nose and ears cut off for fleeing her abusive in-laws. Aisha posed for the picture and says she wants the world to see the effect a Taliban resurgence would have on the women of Afghanistan.

(See managing editor Richard Stengel's message to readers about the cover.)