Known by millions then, and yet still, the portrait of the Afghan girl had a widespread impact around the world. Published as a cover of National Geographic magazine in June, 1985, this portrait was that of one adolescent girl named Sharbat Gula, who is depicted wearing a tattered reddish maroon dupatta (headscarf), with piercing green eyes holding a steady stare. This portrait went on to become one of the most famous and recognised pictures ever taken. The haunting fear in the girl’s eyes soon became an epitome for all children suffering in war-torn countries and their horrible living conditions. So much so that hundreds of charities opened up all over the world, some of which are still functioning, collecting aid in all forms in order to help the Afghani refugees. All because of a photo taken at the right place at the right time, as stated by Steve McCurry himself.
But controversies sparked when a famous photographer decided to seek the story himself and post a video on YouTube stating that this portrait might actually not be as natural and coincidental as believed. This led millions to start questioning the validity of the events as narrated by the National Geographic and Steve McCurry; was there any truth behind the story, told by the photographer, of the globally recognised portrait of Afghan Girl?
After the invasion of Russia in 1879, it is estimated that over 7 million native Afghani’s had to leave their homeland and seek refuge across the borders. About 3 million Afghans migrated to Iraq and 4 million crossed borders into Pakistan. Amongst them was the family of the Afghan girl.
After the death of her mother due to appendicitis, the family then chose to migrate over to Pakistan due to the horrendous and depraved living conditions of their war-torn country. It is said that they walked all the way through treacherous mountains from their home country to refugee camp in Peshawar, Pakistan, in the early years of the war.
Accompanied by her father, four sisters and a brother, the Afghan girl’s family initially lived in a tent on the outskirts of Peshawar in a refugee camp called Kacha Garahi for a limited amount of time before moving on to Nasir Bagh Camp, where they set up home. Even though some of these camps had been up for years there was little in the way of improved living conditions for the refugees. The winters were cold and harsh and the summers scorching hot. Families were living 5 to 6 people per tent with no proper water supply for basic human needs, no established sanitation process in place, or any other basic humane requirements except for a cloth roof over their heads. Hospitals were set up by the Red Cross and tents were set up all over the camps acting as a school for the refugee children. And the life went on.
In the year 1984, Steve McCurry was approached by the National Geographic to travel to Pakistan and take pictures of the refugee camps along the Afghan – Pakistan border. It is estimated that he visited about 30 camps in his journey capturing a number of captivating photographs representing the refugee’s living conditions and their unbreakable endurance with the war raging a mere border away.
As stated by the National Geographic, and by Steve McCurry himself, he was out and about the Nasir Bagh Camp conversing with some locals, mingling and taking photos along the way when he noticed a tent-cum-school set up teaching about 10 to 15 girls. Upon approaching the school, where the girls were leaving for home, Steve noticed a young girl, about 8 to 10 years of age with the most startling green eyes. In an interview, when asked about the events leading up to the photo, Steve McCurry was recorded to have said, “She was very shy, and I thought if I photographed other children first, she would be more likely to agree… I guess she was as curious about me as I was about her, because she had never been photographed and had probably never seen a camera.’ He went on to explain that ‘for an instant everything was right – the light, the background, the expression in her eyes.” And so, irrefutably, the most rememberable and recognized photo was captured.
However, the events discovered by a popular photographer and a photo vlogger decades later were a different story altogether. Tony Northup was about 11 years of age in the year 1985 when the photo was first published on the cover of the National Geographic magazine. Mesmerised by the portrait and the message behind it, the 11-year-old Tony started looking up to Steve McCurry.
About thirty plus years later, the now accomplished photographer desired to find out the story behind the events that led up to the capture of the most recognised photo in the world, the one that moved him and reinforced his decision of someday becoming a photographer.
“This isn’t the story I wanted to tell.” – Tony Northup
Around the end of 2018 and the beginning of 2019, Tony uploaded a YouTube video of the story that he unfolded while following the occurrences preceding the portrait. In the video, he states that Sharbat Gula, who was over 8 years of age at the time, had her face covered as was the custom amongst the Afghanis. Upon noticing the startling eyes, Steve McCurry took a photo but that was not enough as he wanted to capture the entire face. Tony states that Steve then told the teacher present to make Sharbat take her face covering off. The teacher did as was told and forced the girl to take the covering off. Sharbat Gula was then moved to another location for a clearer background and “posed like an 80’s glam shot”.
Tony even went in-depth about the spacing balance in the picture where a margin of space was left on top, which according to Tony, could only prove that this photo was in fact taken with the intention of it being the cover, further proving that the portrait might have been manipulated instead of it being natural as was told by Steve McCurry. Another point raised by Tony was throughout all this time, it did not even occur to Steve to ask the name of the child and, furthermore, in the article published in the magazine, this girl was only mentioned in one single line. He even went as far as to say that the fear in the girl’s eyes was not the fear of a raging war but the fear of a male stranger making her remove her scarf and taking a photograph.
Regardless of whether Steve’s version of events is the truth or that of Tony Northup’s, the reality remains that this picture was used on the cover without the consent of Sharbat or her family. She in fact was completely unaware of her portrait and fame until the year 2002.
Sharbat Gula was arrested in 2015 in Pakistan for using a forged Pakistani identity card. After being detained for 2 weeks, she was sent back to Afghanistan along with her children. She was heartbroken for she believed Pakistan to be her homeland as she had lived here for over 40 years. Gula, however, received a warm welcome from her home country’s government as they welcomed back the famous girl who, obliviously, helped Afghanistan receive aid globally.
In utter appreciation, the Afghani government has gifted Sharbat Gula with a home of her own and a monthly stipend of $700 per month for living expenses and medical bills.
Although she has admitted of being cautious people around her as her photo on the cover now has exposed her and put her at risk from the conservative Afghani extremists who are against women appearing on the media, she is happy with her new home. She remembered being angry when Steve was taking her photograph but now, as she sees her children attending school and living in comfort, she is blissful and holds no ill feelings towards anyone as said by the Afghan Girl herself.
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