In 1985, National Geographic published its iconic cover of the green-eyed Afghan Girl. At the time, she was considered the most recognisable face in the world.
But now, Sharbat Gula could face up to 14 years in prison for identity fraud.
Arrested on Wednesday at her home in Peshawar, Pakistan, authorities accused Gula of possessing a forged national identification card, a practice that is common in the country.
She was arrested following a two-year investigation on the matter. More from USA Today:
Pakistan, and particularly the Peshawar area along the Afghan border, has been home to more than a million Afghans fleeing decades of war. Pakistan has been cracking down on fake national identification cards and has launched a verification program across the nation.
Gula was about 12 years old in 1984 when war photographer Steve McCurry shot her haunting portrait Afghan Girl, which appeared on the cover of the internationally renowned magazine’s June 1985 edition.
Gula’s parents were killed in Russia’s war with Afghanistan, and the young Gula walked with her grandmother and four siblings across the mountains to Pakistan’s Nasir Bagh refugee camp.
The photo became a symbol of the plight of refugees. After the 9/11 terror attacks it resurfaced as a promotional tool in the Bush administration’s effort to draw support for a war against the Taliban.
In 2002, McCurry tracked Gula down to a remote Afghan village, where she was married to a baker and had three daughters. A traditional Muslim, she was not allowed to meet men outside her family. The magazine said it was given permission to send a female associate producer to meet Gula and take another photo.
However, according to Huffington Post, Gula was living there legally:
“FIA along with security forces came, entered her house, searched all belongings and took important papers including $2,800,” her brother-in-law, Shahshad Khan, told Reuters. He claimed that she was living in Pakistan legally.
What a messy situation war has created in regions, don’t you think?
[source:usatoday&huffingtonpost]
