Afghan woman Sharbat Gula, the iconic face of refugee struggle who has deported from Pakistan a few days ago, will undergo treatment for Hepatitis C in Bengaluru soon. "Touched by Narayana hospital in Bengaluru offering Gula free of cost treatment and hospitality ," Afghan ambassador Shaida Abdali tweeted.
According to her lawyer, Sharbat Gula is suffering from Hepatitis C and other health issues. Gula became a worldwide face after her photograph appeared in the National Geographic Magazine in 1984. She was deported from Pakistan to Afghanistan on Wednesday . "Gula will soon be in India for free medical treatment. Thank you India for being a true friend," Abdali added.
After fleeing Afghanistan as a young child, Gula spent decades in Pakistan and was arrested on charges of possessing fake identity documents. Pakistan has been criticised for deporting Gula. She pleaded guilty to all charges against her and was sentenced to 15 days in jail and a fine of Rs 1,10,000 by a special anti-corruption and immigration court. Following the sentence, the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa provincial government offered to stop her deportation from the country but she refused to stay in Pakistan. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani last week offered her a furnished apartment after she was deported to Pakistan. The portrait of Sharbat Gula, whose sea-green eyes and piercing gaze, made her an international symbol of refugees facing an uncertain future, first appeared on the cover of National Geographic in 1985.
Photographer Steve McCurry photographed her as a young girl living in the largest refugee camp in Pakistan, where almost three million Afghans sought shelter in the wake of the 1979 invasion by the Soviet Union.
In 2002, McCurry tracked Sharbat Gula down, now married and mother of five, and photographed her again. That photo has been likened with Leonardo Da Vinci's Mona Lisa. National Geographic also made a short documentary about her life and dubbed her the "Mona Lisa of the Afghan war".
According to her lawyer, Sharbat Gula is suffering from Hepatitis C and other health issues. Gula became a worldwide face after her photograph appeared in the National Geographic Magazine in 1984. She was deported from Pakistan to Afghanistan on Wednesday . "Gula will soon be in India for free medical treatment. Thank you India for being a true friend," Abdali added.
After fleeing Afghanistan as a young child, Gula spent decades in Pakistan and was arrested on charges of possessing fake identity documents. Pakistan has been criticised for deporting Gula. She pleaded guilty to all charges against her and was sentenced to 15 days in jail and a fine of Rs 1,10,000 by a special anti-corruption and immigration court. Following the sentence, the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa provincial government offered to stop her deportation from the country but she refused to stay in Pakistan. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani last week offered her a furnished apartment after she was deported to Pakistan. The portrait of Sharbat Gula, whose sea-green eyes and piercing gaze, made her an international symbol of refugees facing an uncertain future, first appeared on the cover of National Geographic in 1985.
Photographer Steve McCurry photographed her as a young girl living in the largest refugee camp in Pakistan, where almost three million Afghans sought shelter in the wake of the 1979 invasion by the Soviet Union.
In 2002, McCurry tracked Sharbat Gula down, now married and mother of five, and photographed her again. That photo has been likened with Leonardo Da Vinci's Mona Lisa. National Geographic also made a short documentary about her life and dubbed her the "Mona Lisa of the Afghan war".