‘Afghan Girl’ image earned photographer Steve McCurry worldwide fame

The image of nameless green-eyed ‘Afghan Girl’ made the Philadelphia-born American documentary photographer Steve McCurry famous after it was published on the cover page of National Geographic in 1985. This image is one of the most famous one in the world which had put a human face on brutal conflict.

After the picture of ‘Afghan Girl’ was published in National Geographic magazine, McCurry was signed to prestigious photographic agency Magnum and he had also awarded few times for his work. Currently, at the Birmingham Museum and the Art Gallery, the pic of ‘Afghan Girl’ displays the long and varied career of McCurry.

McCurry was able to take the photo of the girl when he was travelling from Pakistan border to Afghanistan long ago in 1984, before the Soviet offensive. The girl was in a refugee camp close to Peshawar. McCurry approached her and took her picture, first of the two in her life. The second one was also taken by McCurry seventeen years later in 2002 after a long search of the girl. She is now living in the Afghanistan mountains and is a mother of three.