It is very rare for a man to see faces of Afghan girls mainly because they are well-covered, thus McCurry seized the opportunity when she showed her face for a few moments. Her photograph made it to the cover of the magazine later on.
This Afghan girl, whose identity was revealed in 1992 to be Sharbat Gula, is now married and mother of three girls. She and her family lives in Pushtun, an ethnic region in Afghanistan.