AFGHANISTAN.- The cover of the June 1985 National Geographic magazine portrayed an Afghan girl whose eyes captivated the world. Since it is the custom for women not to tell their names to strangers, the photographer thought that he would never know the name of this girl. National Geographic searched for this girl and found her. Her name is Sharbat Gula, and she is Pashtun. She is around 28 years old. Photographer Steve McCurry stated: "It's miraculous that Sharbat Gula survived all these years. When I took her photo in 1984, Afghanistan was at war with the Soviet Union. The country was in a serious state of lawlessness, and the mortality rate among the refugee population was high. As with so many of her fellow Afghans, her survival is a testament to her courage and determination." McCurry further stated, "She's had a hard life, So many here share her story." The Explorer team verified that the girl was the same as the one photographed 17 years ago through iris-scanning technology and face-recognition techniques used by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation.