Photographer Steve McCurry stands next to his portrait of Sharbat Gula.Photo: ULRICH PERREY/DPA/AFP via Getty Images
Sharbat Gula, whose piercing portrait on the cover ofNational Geographicin 1985 put a face on war-torn Afghanistan, has fled the nation and is now living in Rome, multiple outlets reported.
Gula — who is now believed to be in her late 40s and has several children — was evacuated to Italy’s capital sometime after theUnited States' withdrawal of troopsfrom Afghanistan and theTaliban’s retaking of controlthere in August, according to theNew York Times.
Gula asked the Italian government for assistance, the office of Premier Mario Draghi said, according to theAssociatedPress, which reported that Italy’s government has committed to helping her adjust to life in Rome.
However, it remains unclear when Gula arrived in Italy or whether she will stay there, according to theTimes.
The news comes after nonprofit organizations requested help to evacuate Gula from Afghanistan, where the Taliban have been accused of limiting women’s rights and searching for people who supported Americans there, theTimesreported. Italy is among several Western nations that have evacuated Afghan refugees in recent months.
“They are the poorest women and the most fearful women in the world,” Dr. Massouda Jalal, the first and only woman to run for president of Afghanistan, told PEOPLE of Afghan women in September. “Their life will be at any moment under threat.”
Sharbat Gula.Haroon Sabawoon/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
“I noticed this one little girl with these incredible eyes, and I instantly knew that this was really the only picture I wanted to take,” he said of the chance meeting, according toNPR.
His intimate portrait of Gula was put on the cover ofNational Geographic’s June 1985 issue, which featured the headline “Along Afghanistan’s War-torn Frontier.”
But even as the image gained international acclaim, her identity remained unknown until 2002, when McCurry and a team ofNational Geographicjournalists located her in the mountains of Afghanistan. Though “time and hardship had erased her youth,” themagazine reportedat the time, “the eyes still glare; that has not softened.”
McCurry toldThe Guardianin September, “Afghans find themselves in the same predicament as they were back in the 1980s. They’re questioning security, displaced and seeking refuge.”
source: people.com
