The "Afghan Girl"

Some of you may already know this photo:

It was made famous in 1985 by journalist Steve McCurry when it featured on the cover of that June's National Geographic edition.

The picture, taken in Pakistan in a refugee camp, shows a girl that originated from Afghanistan which orphaned by the Soviet bombings, was forced (along with her siblings) to cross the border into Pakistan.

The identity of the approximately 13-year-old girl was unknown at the time, the girl usually being referred to simply as the "Afghan girl".

Quickly becoming a symbol of both the Afghan conflict and the condition of refugees worldwide, the green-eyed "Afghan girl" remained unknown for almost fifteen years, despite efforts to find her, up to 2002, when a team of journalists at the National Geographic finally traced her back to a remote place in her native country.
Although a lot of women claimed to be her when inquired by the reporters, Sharbat Gula was identified, with help from biometric technology that compared her iris pattern to that of the "Afghan girl", as the girl in the photograph.

The woman had returned to her home country and had three girls, which she hoped would receive the education she never got.

Here is a comparison photo of the 13-year-old Sharbat Gula and her older self (in her early thirties, she was born ca. 1972 and the picture was taken in 2002):

Here is a link to the whole article that appeared in National Geographic in June, 1985.

Just let me say that that look from the original photo (the top of the post) is easily one of the most impressive looks I've ever seen.