Famous Green-eyed 'Afghan Girl' On 1985 National Geographic Cover, Evacuated To Italy
Italy has given safe haven to Sharbat Gula, the green-eyed "Afghan Girl" whose 1985 photo in National Geographic became a symbol of her country's wars, Prime Minister Mario Draghi`s office said.
Do you remember the famous green-eyed Afghan girl who was on the cover of National Geographic in 1985? The girl has finally arrived in Italy as part of the west¡¯s evacuation of Afghans after the Taliban takeover of the country, the Italian government has said.
The government intervened after Sharbat Gula asked for help to leave Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover of the country in August, a statement said, adding that her arrival was part of a broader programme to evacuate and integrate Afghan citizens.
Reuters
Picture gained international fame
Gula gained international fame in 1984 as an Afghan refugee girl, after the war photographer Steve McCurry¡¯s photograph of her, with piercing green eyes, was published on the cover of National Geographic. Her picture became a symbol of her country's wars. At the time, she was living in a refugee camp on the Pakistan-Afghan border.
Her startling green eyes, peering out from a headscarf with a mixture of ferocity and pain, made her know internationally but her identity was only discovered in 2002 when McCurry returned to the region and tracked her down.
AP
An FBI analyst, forensic sculptor and the inventor of iris recognition all verified her identity, National Geographic said at the time.
In 2014, she was in Pakistan but went into hiding when authorities accused her of buying a fake Pakistani identity card and ordered her deported. She was flown to Kabul where the president hosted a reception for her at the presidential palace and reportedly handed her keys to a new flat.
Taliban takeover
Italy was one of several western countries that airlifted hundreds of Afghans out of the country after the departure of US forces and the Taliban takeover in August.
AFP
Since seizing power, Taliban leaders have said they would respect women's rights in accordance with sharia, or Islamic law. But under Taliban rule from 1996 to 2001, women could not work and girls were banned from school. Women had to cover their faces and be accompanied by a male relative when they left home.
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