A Life In The Shadows: A Girl Reflects The Changes In Afghanistan
In 1979 the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, initiating a conflict that would split the country in two and that has not ended yet. As a result, many citizens had to emigrate to Pakistan to protect themselves from war and save their lives.
Among them the family of Sharbat Gula, the girl who in 1984 was photographed in a Peshawar camp and in 1985 became one of the most symbolic covers of National Geographic. His green eyes were a mirror of the difficult reality that Afghans lived. The photo was taken by Steve McCurry and it would soon become an iconic image of refugees.
However, despite the resounding success of the cover, 17 years passed without us knowing the girl’s name. Also, during that same time, Sharbat Gula did not learn that his face was one of the most famous and recognized.
Read on: The McGurk effect: when we hear with our eyes
Reunion
That was the reason why the photographer decided to look for her again in 2002. He found her in the mountains of Afghanistan. His name hadn’t changed, in the same way that his expression hadn’t.
It could not be for less, all his life he had been at war. At the age of 10, in addition, an illness left her without her mother, while a bomb would take her father’s life.
All his life he had moved between Afghanistan and Pakistan, trying to avoid danger. She got married at 13 years old, had 4 children and one of the girls died in her first years of life. Also, at many times during those 17 years he suffered the indirect consequences of the conflict, such as food shortages.
Another shadow in your life
After that new encounter with Steve McCurry, in 2002, Sharbat Gula was not heard from again until 2016. However, once again, the news surrounding her was not encouraging.
In that year, the Pakistani authorities arrested her for being in possession of illegal documentation. He did it knowing the risk he was running, understanding that it was the only solution for his children to be able to study.
She was arrested for 15 days, falling ill with Hepatitis C during this period . This was the humanitarian reason given by the Afghan government for attempting his repatriation.
Discover: The fanaticism of terror is back: women and girls disappear in Afghanistan
The current situation in Sharbat Gula and Afghanistan
Thus, since 2017 he returned permanently to his country. However, today he has come across a new obstacle in the way. It is about the return of the Taliban to power. A totalitarian regime that condemns women to a life without many rights and with many obligations. An inequality that has cost a lot to shorten, and that from several fronts is committed to recovering.
It is likely that they will again be prohibited from entering certain training courses, certain studies and forced to dress in a certain way. Not only them, but a good part of the population will no longer be free to express what they think. Sharbat, like many her peers, feels that a familiar story begins to live, that the bars of pressure are hanging over her that threatens to charge a very high price .
We are talking about a threat that is much closer than we think in the West. Of a humanitarian abuse that only seeks to increase the power of those who already hold it, turning the rest into servants. Of a situation that is very difficult to reverse when so many interests converge and very few are actually fighting for a decent future for the inhabitants of the area, who would not have to leave the land that has seen them grow and in which they have sown their hopes.
