Sharbat Gulla

Sharbat Gulla was an Afghan refugee of Pushtun origin who migrated to Pakistan in 1984 when Soviet Union invaded her country in which her parents were killed when she was just six years old. She got global recognition as well as attention when a National Geographic Society photographer Steve McCurry took her photograph while she was in a refugee camp in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The picture, titled Afghan Girl, appeared on the June 1985 cover of National Geographic. The image of her face, with a red scarf wrapped loosely over her head and her eyes staring directly into the camera was named "the most recognized photograph" in the history of the magazine, and the cover itself is one of the most famous of the National Geographic till date. American Photo magazine described the image as an "unusual combination of grittiness and glamour". Her green eyes are the subject of frequent commentary since publication of the photograph. Her stern face with deep green colored eyes giving stunning look and depicting mysterious stories behind exploded the world with praise and envy. Whole world was curious to know more about the story of that Afghan girl who was popularly referred as "Mona Liza of Afghanistan".

McCurry was not expecting such an overwhelming response on the photograph. While he took the photo, he didn’t even bother to know the name of the girl who was just 12 years of age at that time. She even didn’t know that she has taken the world by storm after publication of her photograph. McCurry made several unsuccessful attempts during the 1990s to locate her and for this purpose in January 2002, a National Geographic team traveled to Afghanistan to find her. The team finally was able to trace and identify her through bio-metric testing. She was photographed again which was later published in National Geographic in April 2002 with her story. American President George W. Bush also referred her in his speeches for women right issues in Afghanistan.

Sharbat Gulla was recently arrested in Peshawar for having fake National ID Card of Pakistan. She was awarded punishment of 15 days imprisonment and 110,000 Rupees fine by the court. She was deported after serving the jail term in a hospital for the treatment of Hepatitis C. Amnesty International criticized her punishment and deportation. Sharbat Gulla was widowed at the age of 30 and currently she is 44 years of age with three daughters having no source of income or home in Afghanistan. 

In real life, we are also treated as Sharbat Gulla was and is being treated. When we are needed then the world treats us like a king. We are given celebrity status and red carpet welcome all around. People will be willing to be around us and will feel privileged to be our friends and acquaintances. As long as our specialty whether it is in the form of professional expertise or personality trait is in demand, world will be willing and eager to pay the price with premium. The moment our expertise gets redundant and our trait gets rusted, we are forgotten and thrown in the dustbin made for undesirable people still alive. In corporate world as well, you are blue eyed as long as your contribution is valued by the organization you are working for. You are respected as long as you are needed. If you are not in demand anymore then people will avoid you, forget you and at the most pity you. When Sharbat Gulla was in demand, whole teams of National Geographic traveled several times spending thousands of dollars to find her, interview her and shoot her. When she lost her charm, got older, sicker, homeless and penniless; she was no more in demand. No one was by her side through her thick and thin. She suffered alone through her agony and those who took advantage of her didn’t even bother to issue a statement in her favor.   

 In this selfish world, we will have a life and end like Sharbat Gulla if we underestimate our real worth, let others exploit us and fail to charge premium on our value in this era of commercialization.