The iconic photograph of the girl from Afghanistan was not only a landmark for National Geographic but for the entire humanity, which identified her face and gaze with the suffering of all Afghan refugees during the 80s. Her image was to "leave an era" in the history of photojournalism.
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The photo was taken in 1984 in a refugee camp near Peshawar, Pakistan, during the Soviet-Afghan War, by American-born photographer Steve McCurry. He himself was there with the aim of capturing the moments that the rest of the world could not see.
According to Steve McCurry, while wandering around the border he recorded with his camera the scenery and the camp, but when he visited a classroom and saw 12-year-old Gula, he characteristically stated that “I knew he had an incredible look, a penetrating look. But there was a crowd of people around us, the dust was swirling around, and it was in front of the digital cameras and you never knew what was going to happen. When I developed the image, I knew it was special. I showed it to the editor of National Geographic and he jumped to his feet and shouted "this is our next cover". So in June next year National Geographic published the issue with the cover image of Sharbat Gula, simply giving the title "The Afghan Girl" as the photographer did not know the 12-year-old's name.
This particular photo is one of the most recognized and distinguished in the world. In fact, it is the only image that has been placed 3 times on the cover of National Geographic.
Sharbat Gula's Life Before Photography:
Gula was born in 1972, but during the 80s due to attacks that took place in the area where her family lived, she lost her parents and now her and her brothers' guardian was their grandmother - of course, later Gula mentioned that the her mother died of appendicitis. Their family belonged to the nomadic Pashtun ethnic group, which is Afghanistan's largest ethnic group. In 1980, they took refuge in the Afghan Nasir Ba camp because of the war, on the border with Pakistan.
McCurry visited a camp class in 1984 that Gula was in and was immediately struck by her rare beauty. As has been claimed by Sharbat Gula's own later comment, he photographed her and some other minor girls without their consent or their guardians' consent. This can be confirmed in part by two facts. First, Pashtun culture is against showing women's uncovered faces to unknown men. Second, there are two photos of the girl in which she hides all of her facial features except her eyes with the hijab, while McCurry initially stated that the 12-year-old did not wish to be photographed. But all this came to the fore after decades.
Life after taking the photo
The shocking image of the "Afghan Girl" became so popular that it was used by dozens of organizations, becoming an international symbol of the consequences of war and displacement. While the whole world was talking about Gula, Steve McCurry gained recognition, money and awards thanks to this shot of his, the girl nevertheless knew nothing at all for at least 15 years and of course received no financial help.
When this legendary shot was made the girl was about 12 years old, and the next year she married her husband Rahmat Gula and they had 4 children, and in 1992 they returned to their homeland. Although Gula was recognized by her face, her identity remained unknown until in 2002, thanks to a National Geographic documentary directed by McCurry, she was located and recounted her life. She was located in Afghanistan using iris recognition software, and once again she was asked to be photographed for the documentary 'The Search for the Afghan Girl' showing the hardships she and other refugees have faced throughout her life. When asked how he felt about the photo, he replied: "I was very surprised [because] I didn't like the media and taking pictures since childhood. At first, I was worried about the publicity of my photo, but when I found out that I was the cause of support / help for many people / refugees, then I was happy.'' National Geographic awarded her full family medical care and a religious pilgrimage to Mecca for her participation.
Later, three events marked her life.
The loss of one of her daughters shortly after her birth and the death of her husband from hepatitis C. Now her only concern was to raise her children in peace and provide them with an education, which she herself was deprived of. In 2016, Gula was arrested by Pakistani authorities for illegally entering the country with forged documents and was sentenced to 14 years in prison and fined. The Afghan government considered her case a national case for this and she was repatriated to her birthplace. In Kabul she was warmly welcomed by the nation and the president Ashraf Ghani. The following year, her family's financial expenses were taken over by the government, where she was given her permanent residence.
The adventures didn't stop there...
The Taliban took over Kabul in 2021, where they targeted and threatened high-profile individuals, such as Gula, for which she fled to Italy where she was offered refugee asylum and additional support with a widow's allowance and housing. Finally after a turbulent journey Sharbat Gula smiles again knowing that she did everything she could to support her children, their dreams and the hope for a better tomorrow.
*Cover photo: The June 1985 issue of National Geographic magazine made the "Afghan Girl" world famous. Cover photograph by Steve McCurry, Nat Geo Image Collection