Afghan Girl

Afghan Girl
Year1984
MediumKodachrome 64 colour-slide film, via Nikon FM2 camera and Nikkor 105mm Ai-S f/2.5 lens
SubjectSharbat Gula

Afghan Girl is a 1984 photographic portrait of Sharbat Gula, an Afghan refugee in Pakistan during the Soviet–Afghan War. The photograph, taken by American photojournalist Steve McCurry near the Pakistani city of Peshawar, appeared on the June 1985 cover of National Geographic.[1][2][3][4] While the portrait's subject initially remained unknown, she was identified by early 2002: Gula, an ethnic Pashtun from Afghanistan's Nangarhar Province, was a 12-year-old child residing in Pakistan's Nasir Bagh.

In light of the Cold War, the portrait was described as the "First World's Third World Mona Lisa"[5] in reference to the 16th-century painting of the same name by Leonardo da Vinci.[6][7] Gula's image became "emblematic" in some social circles as the "refugee girl/woman located in some distant camp" that was deserving of compassion from the Western viewer,[8] and also as a symbol of Afghanistan to the West.[9] CNN called it the 'world's most famous photograph'.[10]

  1. ^ "'Afghan girl' from famous National Geographic cover is given refuge in Italy". NBC News. 2021-11-25. Retrieved 2023-09-06.
  2. ^ Suliman, Adela (2021-11-27). "'Afghan Girl' from National Geographic cover evacuated to Rome, Italian government says". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2023-09-06.
  3. ^ Ruotolo, Hada Messia,Nicola (2021-11-25). "'Afghan Girl' from National Geographic magazine cover granted refugee status in Italy". CNN. Retrieved 2023-09-06.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ Ragobeer, Emily. "Afghan war: Iconic face of the refugee struggle". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2023-09-06.
  5. ^ Wendy S. Hesford; Wendy Kozol, eds. (2005). Just Advocacy?: Women's Human Rights, Transnational Feminisms, and the Politics of Representation. Rutgers University Press. p. 1. ISBN 9780813535890.
  6. ^ Zoroya, Greg (2002-03-13). "National Geographic tracks down Afghan girl". USA Today. Gannett Company. Archived from the original on 2012-02-28. Retrieved 2012-02-14.
  7. ^ "Hollywood movie poster at the Kabul Cinema". Meridian International Center. Archived from the original on 2012-12-22. Retrieved 2012-12-04.
  8. ^ Cain, Maureen; Howe, Adrian (2008-11-03). Women, Crime and Social Harm: Towards a Criminology for the Global Age. Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 87–. ISBN 9781847314703. Archived from the original on 20 February 2017. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference Ribhu was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Simons, Jake Wallis (2015-03-23). "The story behind the world's most famous photograph". CNN. Retrieved 2023-09-06.