Afghan Girl (1985)

Photo of Afghan Girl from Refugee Camp by Steve McCurry

At the Nasir Bagh refugee camp in 1984, Gula's photograph was taken by National Geographic Society photographer, Steve McCurry. The image of a girl’s face, with a red scarf draped loosely over her head and her piercing sea-green colored eyes staring directly into the camera, became a symbol both of the 1980s Afghan conflict and of the refugee situation worldwide. The image was named "the most recognized photograph" in the history of the magazine, and the cover itself is one of the most famous of the National Geographic.