THE AFGHAN GIRL
The Afghan girl is a photograph by journalist Steve McCurry. The photograph has been likened to Leonardo Da Vinci’s painting of the Mona Lisa and has been called “ the first world’s third world Mona Lisa”. The subject of the photograph was called “The Afghan Girl” by the public, until she was formally identified in 2002 as Sharbat Gula as Afghan woman who was living as a refugee in Pakistan during the time of the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan when she was photographed. The image bought her recognition when it was featured on the over of June 1985 issue of National Geographic Magazine at the time when was about 12 years old.
Although her name was know known then, the image of her face with a red scraf draped loosely over her head ad her piercing sea green coloured eyes staring directly into the camera, became a symbol of both the Afghan conflict and the plight of the refugees worldwide. The image was named “ the most recognized photograph” in the history of the magazine.