Her green eyes clamoured the world of beauty that trickles through the borders; gracing the cover page of National Geographic Magazine nearly three decades ago, Sharbat Gula still awaits an equitable life as promised by the Afghan Officials post deportation from Pakistan for having illegal identification in October, 2016.
The adolescent, Sharbat Gula, whose eyes captivated the world with a thousand-yard intense stare in a red headscarf was photographed by journalist Steve McCurry. Having been called the “the First World’s Third World Mona Lisa”, Gula still clearly remembers sitting for the photograph — one of the only times of her life when she had been photographed, though her anecdote of hardship, impecunious and repentance still continues.
Later in 2002, when National Geographic Team was set on a mission to search for the ‘Afghan Girl’, it was then discovered that she had migrated to a refugee camp in Pakistan. In 2015, the National database & Registration Authority (NADRA) Pakistan cancelled Sharbat’s Computerised National Identity Card (CNIC) claiming the card issued was illegal. Sharbat was charged for living in Pakistan using counterfeit documents, a common practice among Afghans in Pakistan and was arrested by the FIA (Federal Investigation Agency) on 26th October,2016 and later sentenced to detention for two weeks which was served in the hospital where she was treated for Hepatitis C.
She moved to Pakistan with her family amid the war in Afghanistan in 1984 and settled in Nasir Bagh displaced people’s camp in the edges of Peshawar. In a progression of meetings she had lauded the general population of Pakistan for friendliness to Afghans, however, she was baffled at her capture as a legal process.
In a discussion on social media, Najam Shinwari, an Afghan journalist spoke in favor of Sharbat. According to Shinwari, Sharbat chose Afghanistan over other countries which were willing to give her and her family shelter, but her very own country did not do justice to her and did not provide her with the means to live a prosperous life. She has not been given the house that was promised to her by the Government
Sharbat’s arrest and deportation was highly censored by both Pakistan and Afghanistan. Although she was welcomed with the benign warmth by the President of Afghanistan, and Mr Ashraf Ghani, ensured her safety in her birth country, the present situation differed from what was expected. Ms Gula, now 44 lives in an apartment in Kabul with her three daughters buckling under the pressure of overdue rent. Amnesty International — A Non-Profit Human Rights Organisation condemns the deportation of Sharbat Gula and Mr Champa Patel, South Asia Director of Amnesty International expressed his concerns for her.
In the present situation, President Ghani has not been able to accommodate Ms Gula’s family as per the Afghan media reports, “She has not been given the house that was promised to her by the Government.” In a discussion on Social Media, Najam Shinwari, an Afghan journalist spoke in favor of Sharbat. According to Shinwari, Sharbat chose Afghanistan over other countries which were willing to give her and her family shelter, but her very own country did not do justice to her and did not provide her with the means to live a grinning prosperous life. She has not been given the house that was promised to her by the Government.
Unfortunately, being an uneducated Pakhtun girl, she could not cash in on her fame. With the current political dilemma nipping the heels, Sharbat Gula may return back to Pakistan due to exploitation of her name by the Afghan officials. Ms. Gula has taken the bold step of forewarning the officials of crossing the border to Pakistan yet again providing all the commitments not met that were offered to her in the first place on her arrival to Afghanistan.
According to the Correspondence and Information Ministry representative, Najeeb Nangyal, the government of Afghanistan has not actualised a solitary responsibility with Sharbat Gula in this first year of her deportation as she did not get her own house and her kids were banned from school.
Now that Gula’s story has been highlighted on social media. This has pressurised Government officials and forced a presidential residence authority to issue an announcement that President Ghani has issued directions to fulfill all his promises. This opprobrium at the President made a Government Official use his personal Facebook to come down intensely on his own government. However, she is more than willing to live in Pakistan again.
As some Afghan authorities endeavour to politicise Sharbat Gula’s capture in Pakistan, the PTI Government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has declared she won’t be ousted in the event that she chooses to live in Pakistan. A Pakistani property big shot had supposedly offered Gula a place of her decision on the off chance that she needs to live in Pakistan. Pakistan is ready to provide her a place, and that has been her dream ever since.
The writer is a student at IIUI. He can be reached at [email protected]
Published in Daily Times, November 2nd 2017.