Photo: Contributed - www.khaama.com

An Afghan official says that a newlywed woman narrowly escaped a beheading attempt by her mother-in-law in eastern Ghazni province.

Shukria Wali, the head of the women's affairs department in Ghazni province, said on Saturday that Gul Sema, 23, was repeatedly beaten and tortured by her husband's family during her five months of marriage.

Sema was brought to the hospital with severe injuries after her mother-in-law attacked her throat with a knife, Wali said. Sema's husband has been arrested and police are searching for her in-laws.

Wali said Sema was out of danger and has been transferred to a Kabul hospital.