Kabul, Nov 30 (IANS): Three sisters were disfigured after acid was thrown at them in Afghanistan's Kunduz province.

The three girls - aged 8, 12 and 17 - were disfigured Tuesday night when attackers threw acid on their faces, Nadira Gia, director of Women Affairs Department in Kunduz province said Wednesday.

"Some unidentified men entered a house in Bulakawal village and after beating the members of the family threw acid on the faces of the three sisters," Gia was quoted as saying.

The condition of the eldest sister is critical, reported Xinhua.

Gia said the attackers had beaten up the father of the girls before leaving the house.

Violence against women in Afghanistan is on the rise despite government efforts to protect women. More than 2,290 cases of violence against women including forced marriages, under-age marriages, and beating by in-laws and family members had been registered in 2010, according to the Afghan Human Rights Commission.