Two Different Worlds, Similar Souls
BU graduate tracks down famed National Geographic Afghan beauty

Photo courtesy of the National Geographic Society
Covered again – April’s National Geographic brings Sharbat Gula face to face with her own haunting image.

By Joe Crea
Muckraker Editor

Boston University graduate and National Geographic Associate Producer Carrie Regan recently helped track down the famed Afghan woman whose face with indelible green eyes graced the cover of National Geographic Magazine 17 years ago.

“The first thing I noticed were her eyes…they glowed brilliantly from behind the fold of the chador,” said Regan. “And for the first time [after exhausting other leads], I thought, ‘My God, this could be her.’”

Regan, who graduated from COM’s Department of Film and Television in 1993, joined a National Geographic film crew this past January in Pakistan where a local man informed crew members he knew of the Afghan girl, Sharbat Gula, and offered to bring her to them. A few days later, he returned with Gula and agreed to allow a woman in to see her. Regan, the only female crew member, was his choice.

Regan spent the next few days talking with Gula and her family. A translator was available whose English was limited and Regan managed to communicate with a few Pashto phrases. “It was really like hanging out with the girls,” said Regan of the experience. “We talked, laughed and had some serious conversations.”

Miles and oceans between them, both of these women hail from completely different worlds. Regan was 13 in June of 1985 when she first saw the photo of the Afghan refugee. This Lowell native continued with her life and never thought much about the Soviet war in Afghanistan or the refugees.

Meanwhile in Afghanistan, 13-year old Gula was living in a war-torn region. According to Regan, her memories consist of the sounds of planes overhead and bombs falling from the sky. Her brother said that he could not recall any happiness in his sister’s life.
When Gula was six years old, her parents were killed by the Soviet bombing raids. This eventually forced her remaining family into the Nasir Bagh refugee camp where photographer Steve McCurry captured the image seen around the world.

Regan says that Gula never realized her world-wide fame and, until meeting Regan, had never seen the famed shot. When presented with the photo, Gula looked at it, smiled and said, “Yes, that’s me.”

Photo courtesy of The National Geographic Society

THEN AND NOW The image that’s haunted the world for 17 years (left) and its subject, Sharbat Gula, today. John Daugman, a professor of computer science at Cambridge University and inventor of automatic iris recognition, mathematically determined that the eyes from both photos were identical. Thomas Musheno, a former forensic examiner for the FBI, conducted facial comparisons between the two photos.

In conversations, Gula said that the Taliban brought order to a region rife with lawlessness after the Soviets left. While she called the burka “a beautiful thing,” she was critical of the Taliban in many areas, particularly education. Gula said that education is paramount and a path to a better life, especially for her two daughters.

She told Regan that at a young age she enjoyed school but couldn’t continue because her family had no money. Gula obliged Regan’s education curiosity by writing her name.
Regan felt that Gula looked at her as a “symbol of promise,” since she is a professional, educated woman with a career. “I really think she thought I represented hope for her daughters.”

Shy and reserved at times, due to the role of women in Afghan society, Gula admitted to Regan that she was uncertain if they should meet. After all, Regan was an American and Gula expressed bitterness towards the United States for the continued bombing campaign. But her harshness was softened by her desire to visit America, a place she said seemed “beautiful” judging by some photos she had seen.

Regan couldn’t help but be impressed by Gula’s character. “She is a good mother who wants her daughters to have an education,” said Regan. “She is selfless, showing nothing but genuine concern for her family, children and country, and asking only for help for her husband, children and mother-in-law.”

Regan received many letters praising Gula, all of which she has mailed to her Afghan friend. “There were a few negative ones, such as, ‘Oh, how can you be sure that it is her,’ etc. But over all, they were very positive.”

She also provided Gula with a photo of herself. “Originally, she saw my driver’s license and wanted that,” laughed Regan. “I said ‘I might need that at some point,’ so I gave her another photo of myself.”

When it came time to say good-bye, Gula was already inside a truck heading back to Afghanistan. Regan saw her through the truck’s window and placed her hand on the glass. Gula smiled and obliged the gesture by placing her hand on the opposite side of the glass. Then, Regan said, the truck sped off down the dirt road and vanished over the hill.