Helen Mirren: World Press Photo: winners

On the morning of February 11, 2011, the international jury of the 54th World Press Photo Contest named a photo by South African photographer Jodi Bieber, World Press Photo of the Year 2010. The image is a portrait of Bibi Aisha, disfigured as punishment for fleeing her husband's house, taken in Kabul, Afghanistan. Over 5,691 photographers entered 108,059 images in the 2011 World Press Photo Contest and after the two-week judging period, 56 were named winners in nine categories. It is a prestigious contest and an honor to be named a winner. The following post shares 23 of those winning images. For more on the contest, including a time-lapse video of the jury room being set up, to hear the jury chairs discuss the images that were named winners, and to learn more about the competition, World Press Photo -- Paula Nelson (23 photos total)

Bibi Aisha, an 18-year-old woman from Oruzgan province in Afghanistan, fled back to her family home from her husband's house, complaining of violent treatment. The Taliban arrived one night,
demanding Bibi be handed over to face justice. After a Taliban commander pronounced his verdict, Bibi's brother-in-law held her down and her husband sliced off her ears and then cut off her nose. Bibi was abandoned, but later rescued by aid workers and the U.S. military. After time in a women's refuge in Kabul, she was taken to America, where she received counseling and reconstructive surgery. Bibi Aisha now lives in the United States. World Press Photo of the Year 2010, Jodi Bieber, South Africa, Institute for Artist Management/Goodman Gallery for Time magazine.

Flood victims scramble for food as they battle the downwash from a Pakistan army helicopter during relief operations, Dadu, Pakistan, on September 13, 2010. First Prize, People in the News Stories, Daniel Berehulak, Australia, Getty Images.

Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks, in London, September 30. Second Prize, People in the News Single, Seamus Murphy, Ireland, VII Photo Agency.

Nguyen Thi Ly, 9, suffers from Agent Orange disabilities, Da Nang, Vietnam. Second Prize Contemporary Issues Single, Ed Kashi, USA, VII Photo Agency.

Four Somali refugees en route to Yemen sleep in the desert after traveling all night on muddy roads and in pouring rain, Somaliland, on March 15, 2010. First Prize Contemporary Issues Stories, Ed Ou, Canada, Reportage by Getty Images.

A man carries a shark through the streets of Mogadishu, Somalia, on September 23, 2010. First Prize Daily Life Single, Omar Feisal, Somalia, for Reuters.

An overcrowded train approaches a station in Dhaka, November 16, 2010. Third Prize Daily Life Single, Andrew Biraj, Bangladesh, Reuters.

An urban scene in Calcutta, India. First Prize Daily Life Stories, Martin Roemers, The Netherlands, Panos Pictures.

Thomas Daley of Britain competes in the preliminary of the Men's 3m Springboard diving event during the Youth Olympics at Toa Payoh Swimming Complex, Singapore, on August 22, 2010. First Prize Sport Stories, Adam Pretty, Australia, Getty Images.

Netherlands' Demy de Zeeuw is kicked in the face by Uruguay's Martin Caceres during their World Cup semi-final in Cape Town, July 6, 2010. First Prize Sport Single, Mike Hutchings, South Africa, Reuters.

Kirill Lewerski, a cadet on the Russian tall ship Kruzenshtern. Second Prize Portraits Single, Joost van den Broek, The Netherlands, de Volkskrant.

Self-portraits for social networks. Second Prize Portraits Stories, Wolfram Hahn, Germany.

Milan Fashion Week: Valeria Marini show. Second Prize Arts and Entertainment Single, Davide Monteleone, Italy, Contrasto for The New York Times Style Magazine.

The Flying Cholitas, Bolivia: Lucha libre (Bolivian wrestling), is one of the most popular sports in the country. Women wrestlers are known as cholitas and have in the last ten years become popular in the sport. Carmen Rosa and Yulia la Pacena perform in a benefit show to raise money for the bathrooms of a school in La Paz, Bolivia, June 26, 2010. Second Prize Arts and Entertainment Stories, Daniele Tamagni, Italy.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, right, and his son Kim Jong Un attend a massive military parade to mark the 65th anniversary of the communist nation's ruling Workers' Party in Pyongyang, North Korea, Oct. 10, 2010. Third Prize People in the News Singles, Vincent Yu, Associated Press.

A boy stands by the burning old Iron Market in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, January 18, 2010. First Prize General News Single, Riccardo Venturi, Italy, Contrasto.

A man throws a dead body at the morgue of the general hospital, Port Au Prince, Haiti, January 15, 2010, following the 7.0-magnitude quake on January 12. First Prize General News Stories, Olivier Laban-Mattei, France, Agence France-Presse.

A suicide jump in Budapest, Hungary, May 22, 2010. First Prize Spot News Single, Peter Lakatos, Hungary, MTI.

Anti-government riots in Bangkok, Thailand, May, 2010. Second Prize Spot News Stories, Corentin Fohlen, France, Fedephoto.

Indonesian Hindu devotees walk towards the ash-shooting Mount Bromo volcano to make offerings at a temple located at its foot, outside the village of Cemoro Lawang, in the east of Indonesia's central Java island, December 24, 2010. Third Prize Nature Stories, Christophe Archambault, AFP, Getty Images.

An Indonesian man wears a mask to avoid inhaling ash as he stands in the ash-covered village of Cemoro Lawang near the active Mount Bromo volcano in the east of Indonesia's central Java island, December 24, 2010. Third Prize Nature Stories, Christophe Archambault, AFP, Getty Images.