NatGeo photographer: Arrest of 'Afghan Girl' violates her human rights
Most people don't know her by name, but she's recognized as the "Afghan Girl" with her striking green eyes on the cover of a 1985 National Geographic magazine cover. Reportedly, the same girl — now a woman — has been arrested in Pakistan for having a fake identity card.
According to the Associated Press, Sharbat Gula was arrested during a raid Wednesday at a Peshawar home.
Gula, an Afghan who was photographed at a Pakistani refugee camp when she was 12 years old, was identified in 2002 when the NatGeo photographer, Steve McCurry, went searching for her. He found her when he went back to the same camp from 17 years earlier.
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The photographer that brought her face to international fame vowed on his Instagram page Wednesday morning to "provide legal and financial support for her and her family." He went on, "She has suffered throughout her entire life, and her arrest is an egregious violation of her human rights."
Gula faces up to 14 years in prison along with fines if she's convicted, according to reports.
Last year it was reported that Gula was living in Pakistan with an illegal ID card with her two sons. The same issue appears to be at the center of the latest arrest.
AFP reported Gula was taken into custody by Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) following a two-year investigation into her and her husband for having fake ID cards.
Apparently her husband eluded authorities.
Sasha is a news writer at Mashable's San Francisco office. She's an SF native who went to UC Davis and later received her master's from the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. She's been reporting out of her hometown over the years at Bay City News (news wire), SFGate (the San Francisco Chronicle website), and even made it out of California to write for the Chicago Tribune. She's been described as a bookworm and a gym rat.
