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The Heartbreaking Truth Behind The Iconic ‘Afghan Girl’ Photo Will Leave You Speechless
Since being photographed, the subject of one of the most famous images ever has had a tragically challenging existence.
There are some well-known photos that have been immortalised, ranging from those that depict the effects of climate change to those that were taken in conflict zones.
‘Afghan Girl’ is one of the photos captured by combat photographer Steve McCurry in 1984.
Around the time of the Soviet Union’s conquest of Afghanistan, McCurry photographed the picture at the Nasir Bagh refugee camp in Pakistan.
The image, which features a young girl with piercing green eyes staring straight at the camera, is probably familiar to you.
However, most people are unaware of the young girl’s tale and what transpired when she was featured on the cover of National Geographic in 1985, despite the fact that the iconic photograph is well-known worldwide.
Sharbat Gula, the girl in the picture, was twelve years old at the time.
Like many Afghans, she moved to Pakistan after her mother passed away from appendicitis when she was just eight years old.
Not until 2002, when Sharbat was in her forties, was she finally identified.
‘Her head was held high’
“The photo in 1984 showed her dignity, innocence, heart, fortitude and perseverance. She humanised the true struggle for war refugees globally with no words spoken, simply her face,” McCurry told Al Jazeera in 2016.
“I think there was a bit of defiance in her expression. Her face defined the collective refugee feeling and the struggle.”
“I think all Afghans have a common feeling that they’re in a difficult life, but we’re going to power through this and persevere. Her face was troubled, but her head was held high.”
Shortly after the photo was shot, Sharbat had married at the age of 13 and was living with her family in Pakistan when McCurry was able to locate her again.
Sharbat had tragically lost one of her kids not long after she was born.
“When we found her again back in 2002, she was a mother, continuing her struggle to try to make ends meet for her family,” he stated.
“We saw an evolution of difficulty transcend on her face.”
“She looked hardened because of the climate, anxiety, lack of proper hygiene, poor nutrition. Despite all she’s endured, she’s still going.”
Arrested in Pakistan
In 2016, Sharbat encountered additional difficulties following her detention for reportedly residing in Pakistan on fictitious documents, a charge she refuted.
She had lost her husband, Rahmat Gul, and a second daughter to hepatitis C since she had reconnected with McCurry.
A two-month-old girl was left behind by her 22-year-old daughter.
During her 15 days in prison, Sharbat spent a week in the hospital fighting hepatitis C.
“This was the hardest and worst incident in my life,” she recalled.
She later turned down Pakistan’s offer to remain in the nation.
“I told them that I am going to my country. I said: ‘You allowed me here for 35 years, but at the end treated me like this.’ It is enough,” she told BBC.
“If I wanted to go back, it will be just to offer prayer at the graves of my husband and daughter who are buried in front of the house we lived in.”
Ashraf Ghani, the president at the time, gave her the keys to an apartment after she was flown to Kabul.
Heather Barr, a researcher at Human Rights Watch (HRW), said at the time, “This woman is a symbol to Afghans and also a symbol to Pakistan.”
“The way she was parading in front of the media by Pakistan felt like humiliation of the Afghan government: Here is this woman who had to flee your country for ours.”
“The Afghanistan government responded by ostentatiously welcoming her back. The message was: We can take care of our own people.”
Fleeing Afghanistan a second time
Sharbat’s escape was not over, though, as she and her kids were given asylum by Italy in 2021 after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan.
After US soldiers left Afghanistan, Italy was among several nations that assisted hundreds of Afghans in their escape.
She discussed her thoughts on the picture and how she is now able to provide her kids with an education in a 2022 interview with La Repubblica.
“That photo created a lot of problems for me… I would have preferred it had never been taken. I remember that day well, that photographer who arrived at the Nasir Bagh camp school. I was a child. I didn’t like photos. In Afghan culture women do not appear in photos. But there wasn’t much choice,” she said.
“At first, I was concerned about the publicity of my photo but when I found out that I have been the cause of support/help for many people/refugees, then I became happy.”
“When we returned to Kabul the government gave us accommodation and supported us, but my husband’s family did not agree that my daughter should receive an education, even though she wanted it.”
“I couldn’t do anything to change that choice. But today I can. Here we are free, we can choose. My daughter wants to become a doctor, and I promised her that I will do everything I can to make her wish come true.”
Even though Sharbat’s face is familiar all over the world, those who were learning about her story for the first time were astonished to find that she had had such a tough life.
One wrote: “It shows how a difficult life ages a person. She is only 53 now.”
Another said, “I used to have her picture as kid on my school book because it touched my soul for some reason. I am so sorry to hear she had to go through so much. Hope she is now in a safe and good place with her family. Wish her all the best.”
A third wrote, “I do feel sorry for what she went through but mostly I admire her strength, determination in situations when a lot of Western women especially today wouldn’t be able to handle. She deserves our praise not pity.”
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