The mural is based on the photograph 'Portrait of Afghan Girl Sharbat Gula in the Nasir Bagh Refugee Camp,' taken by Steve McCurry in 1984.

Sharbat Gula was 12 years old when she was photographed. The image became a global emblem when it appeared on the cover of the June 1985 issue of National Geographic. The image of her face, with a red scarf over her head staring intently at the camera, is the most recognizable photograph in the magazine's history. It gained significant attention again in 2002 when the woman in the portrait was located and her identity was revealed.

The image is rendered using 14 flat tones and transferred to the wall with spray paint.

In the words of Paco Reyes: 'The mural of the Afghan girl from National Geographic was by far the most complicated. Not because of the drawing or the colors, but because of its location. Since it was in a stairwell at a great height, we had to use scaffolding. That scaffolding was disassembled in front of the copy shop (four floors below), and since it didn't fit in the elevator, we had to carry it up piece by piece by hand. That was very tough. We had never assembled scaffolding before either. Additionally, Mario was busy with the cafeteria skyline, so Laura and I had to handle it ourselves. Once assembled, painting it wasn't easy either because, being so close to the wall, you have no perspective. Climbing down over and over to look at it from a few meters away was exhausting. Luckily, the eyes—perhaps the most significant part of that portrait—turned out quite expressive.'