Sharbat Gula

Biography

Sharbat Gula, born circa 1972 in Afghanistan, gained international fame as the subject of the iconic 1984 photograph "Afghan Girl," taken by American photojournalist Steve McCurry. The portrait, published on the cover of the June 1985 issue of National Geographic, captured Gula's striking green eyes while she was an Afghan refugee in Nasir Bagh, Pakistan, fleeing the Soviet-Afghan War. Her identity remained a mystery until 2002, when McCurry re-identified her and photographed her again. After living in Pakistan for 35 years, Gula was arrested in 2016 for possessing forged documents and deported to Afghanistan in 2017. In November 2021, following the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan, she was granted asylum in Italy. Gula's story highlights the plight of Afghan refugees and the enduring impact of her image on global awareness of their struggles.