Sharbat Gula – An Afghan woman. But not an ordinary woman. The green-eyed sherbet rose to prominence around the world as pictures appeared on the cover of the National Geographic magazine more than three decades ago. After the resurgence of the Taliban in Afghanistan, Sharbat Gula has left the country like many others. He has taken refuge in Italy, a European country. This information was given by the Italian government on Thursday.
The Italian government has issued a statement regarding the location of the sherbet gul in Rome. However, it did not say when the popular green-eyed woman arrived in Italy. It is said that Sharbat Gula left his country and came to Rome with the help of a private company working in Afghanistan.
The worldwide uproar began in 1985 when a photograph of a green-eyed Afghan girl taken by photographer Steve McCurry appeared on the cover of National Geographic magazine. The piercing dress and the dusty tired face make the picture familiar with the penetrating gaze of the green eyes of the sherbet gula. Danger, helplessness, anxiety – what was not in those two eyes. The girl was talking with bright green eyes as if she was keeping an eye on people all over the world. The girl became famous overnight as ‘Afghan Girl’.
Photographer Steve McCurry took the picture in 1974 from a refugee camp near Peshawar. The picture appeared on the cover of the June 1975 issue of National Geographic. At that time, Sharbat Gula was about 12 years old. Many days later, in 2002, Steve McCurry found Sharbat Gulake again. He said that Sharbat’s eyesight was still as sharp as before. Sharbat Gulake has also been dubbed the ‘Mona Lisa of the Afghan War’.
She was the first person to leave Afghanistan at the age of four or five in the face of Soviet aggression. Later he returned to the country and started his family. However, during the first regime of the Taliban, Sharbat Gula left the country again. He took refuge in Pakistan. He changed his name and started living in the country.
The mother of three daughters, Sharbat Gula, came up for discussion again in 2014. At that time, he applied for citizenship in Pakistan under a false name. However, he was caught for green eyes. At that time the incident came up for discussion in the media. After his arrest, Pakistan sent Sharbat Gula back to Afghanistan in 2016. He has been living in Afghanistan ever since.
After the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan last August, Sharbat Gula has had to choose a refugee life again. He left Kabul and went to Rome, Italy. The Italian government has sheltered nearly 5,000 Afghans since the beginning of September.
