National Geographic's 'Green Eyed' Afghan girl gets asylum in Italy

Afghanistan: The "green-eyed" girl of Afghanistan who featured the National Geographic magazine cover has arrived in Italy during the evacuation after the Taliban took over her country, Associated Press reported.

The Italian government informed that the country organised the evacuation of Sharbat Gula, the Afghan woman after she requested help to leave the country, which went into turmoil. The office of the Italian prime minister said in a statement on Thursday that the government will help Gula get her integrated into life in Italy.

Sharbat Gula rose to international fame in 1984 as an Afghan refugee girl after she was featured on the cover of National Geographic. The woman with the piercing green eyes was photographed by Steve McCurry, a war photographer.

McCurry met her again in 2002. In 2014, she was in Pakistan but went into hiding when authorities accused her of identity card forgery. She got deported after that. She was sent to Kabul, where the president had hosted a reception for her. She was awarded a new flat then.

Italy was one of the several western countries that rescued hundreds of Afghans after Kabul fell in August.