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Sharbat Gula (; born ) is an Afghan woman who became internationally recognized as the subject in Afghan Girl, a 1984 portrait taken by American photojournalist Steve McCurry that was later published as the cover photograph for the June 1985 issue of National Geographic. The portrait was shot at Nasir Bagh, while Gula was residing there as an Afghan refugees fleeing the Soviet–Afghan War. Despite the photograph's high global recognition, Gula's identity remained unknown until 2002, when her whereabouts were verified and she was photographed for the second time in her life. Having lived and raised a family in Pakistan for 35 years, Gula was arrested by Pakistani authorities in 2016 and subsequently deported to Afghanistan in 2017 on the charge of possessing forged identity documents. However, in November 2021, Gula was granted asylum in Italy, three months after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.
Initially, the magazine's editor did not want to use the image, but eventually gave in, publishing a cover image which was simply called Afghan Girl. It was the June 1985 issue, well after the picture had been taken. The photo, which shows a girl with a striking green eye colour, looking straight into the lens with a piercing stare, became a symbol of the Afghan conflict and the problems affecting refugees around the world.
The image is the only one to have been used three times on a National Geographic cover. (The first was June 1985. The second time came after she had been identified, seventeen years later, in the April 2002 issue. The third came in 2013, in an issue titled "The Photo Issue", on the occasion of National Geographic's 125th anniversary.)
Gula was the subject of a television documentary, Search for the Afghan Girl, that aired in March 2002.
In a 2022 interview with La Repubblica, Sharbat Gula shared her feelings on the photo: "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".
Asked if she had ever felt safe, she responded, "No. But life under the Taliban was better. At least there was peace and order." When asked how she had survived, she responded that it was "the will of God". She later had to flee the country after the Taliban threatened her life.
A devout Muslim, Gula normally wears a burqa and was hesitant to meet McCurry, because he was a male from outside the family. Gula had no idea how globally iconic her face had become over the intervening years. When asked how she felt about the photograph, she replied, "I became very surprised because I didn't like media and taking photos from childhood. 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."
After finding Gula, National Geographic covered the costs of medical treatment for her family and a Hajj.
On 26 October 2016, Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency arrested Gula for living in Pakistan with forged documents. She was sentenced to fifteen days in detention, fined, and, after living in Pakistan for 35 years, deported to Afghanistan. The decision was criticized by Amnesty International as emblematic of Pakistan's cruel treatment of Afghan refugees. In Kabul, Sharbat Gula and her children were welcomed by then-President Ashraf Ghani and former President Hamid Karzai at the presidential palace. The government promised to support her financially. In December 2017, Sharbat Gula was given a residence in Kabul for her and her children and a $700 per month stipend for living and medical costs.
After the Taliban capture of Kabul in 2021, the Taliban threatened or intimidated high-profile women such as Gula. At her request, she was evacuated to Italy at the end of November 2021, where she was granted Refugee.
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