Stories Behind the Headlines

Seventeen years ago, this haunting photo (left) appeared on the cover of National Geographic and the world took notice. Those piercing green eyes belonged to a 12-year-old Afghan refugee. The picture of this unknown girl put a face on the ravages of war. Just two years ago, the photographer found this girl living in a remote village in Pakistan. Now 30 years old, Sharbot Gula is a wife and mother. Time and hardship have erased the innocence of her youth, but not her spirit of survival. She says her dream is for her daughters to go to school, so in her honor, the National Geographic Society established the first all girls' school in Kabul last year.