This photograph was taken near Peshawar in 1984.
The portrait of this young girl — long before her name was known — became a symbol of the Afghan tragedy and of the dignity with which its people faced war and exile.
The image was captured in one of the harshest environments on Earth: a refugee camp.
By documenting this place of suffering, McCurry sought to draw attention to the precarious conditions endured by millions of people around the world.
The story of the photo is almost accidental. One day, while walking through the Nasir Bagh refugee camp, McCurry heard young voices coming from a tent used as a classroom.
He asked the teacher for permission to photograph the lesson and, once inside, was immediately struck by the magnetic eyes of a shy student sitting slightly apart from the others.
The portrait — conceived and taken in just seconds — is flawless, revealing McCurry’s extraordinary ability to establish an intense, if fleeting, connection with his subjects.
The girl’s name was Sharbat Gula. She remained unidentified for more than 15 years after her image appeared on the cover of National Geographic, until McCurry was finally able to find her again.
After a long and dangerous journey back to Pakistan, he met her once more.
“Her skin is weathered now, there are wrinkles,” he told The Guardian, “but she’s exactly as extraordinary as she was all those years ago.”
Despite the hardships that had transformed her appearance, the power of her gaze — and the inner strength it conveys — remained unchanged.