Acid attack on Afghan girl and family

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A 17-year-old Afghan girl and her family have been sprayed with acid, apparently after rejecting a marriage proposal, officials and the victims said on Thursday.

The girl, Mumtaz, was seriously injured when acid was sprayed on her face by several masked gunmen who broke into her home in the northern city of Kunduz late on Sunday, her father Sultan Mohammad said.

Her mother and four sisters also suffered slight burns in the attack after they were splashed with the acid aimed at Mumtaz, Mohammad added.

The attack is the latest to highlight the dangers still faced by many women in Afghanistan 10 years after a US-led invasion ousted the Taliban, notorious for their oppressive policies against women.

"It was midnight," Mohammad said from his hospital bed.

"They entered my home by force, they started beating me and put me in a big bag. They moved in and started beating my wife and daughters and before leaving, they sprayed acid on my daughter's face."

Mumtaz, who is hardly able to speak and is also still in hospital, added: "First they beat me, they beat my mother and sisters and then they threw acid on my face."

Mohammad blamed a former militia commander who had proposed marriage to Mumtaz but was rejected by the family.

"A man asked for her hand. We rejected (him) and our daughter was engaged to someone else. I suspect that man might be behind this," he said.

The attackers fled the scene before the police arrived.

Afghan Interior Minister Bismullah Mohammadi has 'personally ordered' police to investigate and 'administer justice to those responsible', his office said.

Some 87 per cent of Afghan women report having experienced physical, sexual or psychological violence or forced marriage, according to figures quoted in an October report by the charity Oxfam.

Last week, the United Nations said that a landmark law aiming to protect women against violence in Afghanistan had only been used to prosecute just over 100 cases since being enacted two years ago.