Afghan Girl from ‘National Geographic’ granted refugee status by Italian PM
Thirty-six years after her appearance on the cover of National Geographic magazine, Sharbat Gula – who became known as the Afghan Girl – has been granted refugee status in Italy by Prime Minister Mario Draghi.
Her picture was taken in Pakistan’s Nasir Bagh refugee camp by photographer Steve McCurry and became the most famous cover image in the magazine’s history.
A statement from Mr Draghi’s office said the cover turned Ms Gula, who was 12 at the time, into a symbol of “the vicissitudes and conflicts of the phase history that Afghanistan and its people were going through”.
“Responding to the requests of those in civil society and in particular among the non-profit organisations active in Afghanistan which, after the events of last August, received Sharbat Gula’s appeal to be helped in leaving their country, the prime minister took it upon himself and organised her transfer to Italy within the broader context of the programme for the evacuation of Afghan citizens and the government’s plan for their reception and integration.”
It is believed Ms Gula is now in Rome. The last time she made headlines was in 2016 when she was arrested in Pakistan for living on forged documents.
McCurry told US broadcaster CNN in 2016 that he “knew she had an incredible look, a penetrating gaze” but was only
sure the picture was special once he developed it.
“There was a crowd of people around us, the dust was swirling around, and it was before digital cameras and you never knew what would happen with the film,” he said.
The years since McCurry photographed Ms Gula have not brought a change of fortunes for Afghanistan and its people.
Now back under Taliban control after the withdrawal of US and Nato troops from the country in August, and battling a humanitarian crisis, Afghan refugees continue to seek safety and security around the world.
Mario Draghi, Prime Minister of Italy, said the 1985 portrait of Ms Gula was symbolic of life and struggle in Afghanistan