Afghanistan

This is Afghan Girl, a photo of Sharbat Gula, an Afghani refugee who was photographed by photojournalist Steve McCurry. It appeared on the June 1985 cover of National Geographic and became a symbol of Afghanistan around the world.  

Fast forward to 2021 and what is happening in Afghanistan* right now is tragic, terrible for women and too complex to understand just by reading any single article. It’s a story of war, of oppression, of religion and foreign occupation. Most adults can’t get their head around it fully, let alone tweens. One way you can start to comprehend the massive impact though is listening to the people who are there, who are living this as a reality. 

Mamamia has compiled the stories of five women and is a good place to start. https://www.mamamia.com.au/the-women-of-afghanistan/

The amazing @laurendubois (journalist and writer) has also written an amazing piece reflecting on the involvement of Australian troops as her husband served there between 2003-2010. 

These are just people’s perspectives, but their stories are real, so they’re as good a place to start as any.

From their start watching the news, start asking questions, Google things, - but just make sure your sources are credible and what you are reading is age-appropriate, best idea is to ask someone you respect such as a teacher, parent or carer to help you.

As to the photo of Sharbat, National Geographic sent a team to find her in 2002. She was living in a remote region of Afghanistan; she had returned to her native country from the refugee camp. She’d been married and had four daughters. She had never seen her photo - Afghan Girl - until it was shown to her in 2002. 

*a Middle Eastern country found between Africa and Russia