Afghan Girls Robotics Team

Last updated
The Afghan Girls Robotics Team with United States senators Jeanne Shaheen and Margaret Wood Hassan in July 2017. MC0 5133 (35877111292).jpg
The Afghan Girls Robotics Team with United States senators Jeanne Shaheen and Margaret Wood Hassan in July 2017.

The Afghan Girls Robotics Team, also known as the Afghan Dreamers, [1] [2] is an all-girl robotics team from Herat, Afghanistan, founded through the Digital Citizen Fund (DCF) in 2017 by Roya Mahboob and Alireza Mehraban. It is made up of girls between ages 12 and 18 and their mentors. Several members of the team were relocated to Qatar and Mexico following the fall of Kabul in August 2021. A documentary film featuring members of the team, titled Afghan Dreamers, was released by MTV Documentary Films in 2023.

Contents

Origins

The Afghan Girls Robotics Team was co-founded in 2017 by Roya Mahboob, who is their coach, mentor and sponsor, and founder of the Digital Citizen Fund (DCF), [3] which is the parent organization for the team. [4] [5] Dean Kamen was planning a 2017 competition in the United States and had recruited Mahboob to form a team from Afghanistan. [6] Out of 150 girls, 12 were selected for the first team. [6] Before parts were sent by Kamen, they trained in the basement of the home of Mahboob's parents, with scrap metal and without safety equipment under the guidance of their coach, Mahboob's brother Alireza Mehraban, who is also a co-founder of the team [6]

2017 and 2018

The Afghan Girls Robotics Team meeting U.S Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan at the 2017 FIRST Global Challenge Robotics Competition. Deputy Secretary Sullivan Meets With A Robotics Team From Afghanistan (35167754184).jpg
The Afghan Girls Robotics Team meeting U.S Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan at the 2017 FIRST Global Challenge Robotics Competition.

In 2017, six members of the Afghan Girls Robotics Team traveled to the United States to participate in the international FIRST Global Challenge robotics competition. [6] [7] [5] Their visas were rejected twice after they made two journeys from Herat to Kabul through Taliban-controlled areas, before officials in the United States government intervened to allow them to enter the United States. [8] [9] [10] Customs officials also detained their robotics kits, which left them two weeks to construct their robot, unlike some teams that had more time. [9] [7] They were awarded a Silver medal for Courageous Achievement. [6] [7] One week after they returned home from the competition, the father of team captain Fatemah Qaderyan, Mohammad Asif Qaderyan, was killed in a suicide bombing. [6] [11] [12]

After their United States visas expired, the team participated in competitions in Estonia and Istanbul. [6] Three of the 12 members participated in the 2017 Entrepreneurial Challenge at the Robotex festival in Estonia, and won the competition for their solar-powered robot designed to assist farmers. [13] [14] In 2018, the team trained in Canada, continued to travel in the United States for months and participate in competitions. [6]

2019

The Afghan Girls Robotics team had aspirations to develop a science and technology school for girls in Afghanistan. Roya Mahboob interfaced with the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), the School of Architecture, and the Whitney and Betty MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies Yale University to design the infrastructure for what they named The Dreamer Institute. [15] [16]

2020

In March 2020, the governor of Herat at the time, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Afghanistan and a scarcity of ventilators, sought help with the design of low-cost ventilators, [17] and the Afghan Girls Robotics Team was one of six teams contacted by the government. [18] Using a design from Massachusetts Institute of Technology [17] and with guidance from MIT engineers and Douglas Chin, a surgeon in California, the team developed a prototype with Toyota Corolla parts [19] [1] [5] [20] and a chain drive from a Honda motorcycle. [2] UNICEF also supported the team with the acquisition of necessary parts during the three months they spent building the prototype [21] that was completed in July 2020. [22] [23] Their design costs around $500 compared to $50,000 for a ventilator. [17]

In December 2020, Minister of Industry and Commerce Nizar Ahmad Ghoryani donated funding and obtained land for a factory to produce the ventilators. [18] Under the direction of their mentor Roya Mahboob, the Afghan Dreamers also designed a UVC Robot for sanitization, and a Spray Robot for disinfection, both of which were approved by the Ministry of Health for production. [18]

2021

In early August 2021, Somaya Faruqi, former captain of the team, was quoted by Public Radio International about the future of Afghanistan, stating, "We don’t support any group over another but for us what’s important is that we be able to continue our work. Women in Afghanistan have made a lot of progress over the past two decades and this progress must be respected." [24] On August 17, 2021, the Afghan Girls Robotics Team and their coaches were reported to be attempting to evacuate, but unable to obtain a flight out of Afghanistan, [25] [26] and a lawyer appealed to Canada for assistance regarding the evacuation of the team members. [27] As of August 19, 2021, nine members of the team and their coaches had evacuated to Qatar. . The founder of the team, Roya Mahboob, and DCF board member, Elizabeth Schaeffer Brown, were previously in contact with the Qatari government to assist the team members in their evacuation from Afghanistan. [28] [29] [4] [30] By August 25, 2021, some members arrived in Mexico. [31] Saghar, a team member who evacuated to Mexico said "We wanted to continue the path that we started to continue to go for our achievements and to go for having our dreams through reality. So that's why we decided to leave Afghanistan and go for somewhere safe" in an interview with The Associated Press. [32] The members who have left Afghanistan participated in an online robotics competition in September and plan to continue their education. [33] [34]

A documentary film titled Afghan Dreamers, produced by Beth Murphy and directed by David Greenwald, was in post-production when the team began to evacuate. [35]

2022

The Afghan Dreamers were involved in a training program at the Texas A&M University at Qatar’s STEM Hub. [36]

2023

The Afghan Girls Robotics Team at the 5th UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries in 2023 Afsana Ahmadi with her fellow teammates Afghan Dreamers.jpg
The Afghan Girls Robotics Team at the 5th UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries in 2023

The Afghan Girls Robotics Team had a booth at the 5th UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries, where they displayed some of the robots the team had constructed. [37]

Afghan Dreamers documentary

The Afghan Dreamers documentary from MTV Documentary Films premiered in May 2023 on Paramount+. [38] The film was directed by David Greenwald and produced by David Cowan and Beth Murphy. [38] In a review for Screen Daily , Wendy Ide wrote, "This film, with its likeable cast of girl nerds and positive message, should enjoy a warm reception on the festival circuit, and will be of particular interest to events seeking to showcase women's stories from around the world. It also serves as a timely cautionary tale – a case study on just how quickly the rights and the opportunities of women can be curtailed, at the behest of the men in power." [39]

Honors and awards

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Afghanistan</span> Country in Central Asia

Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordered by Pakistan to the east and south, Iran to the west, Turkmenistan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, Tajikistan to the northeast, and China to the northeast and east. Occupying 652,864 square kilometers (252,072 sq mi) of land, the country is predominantly mountainous with plains in the north and the southwest, which are separated by the Hindu Kush mountain range. Kabul is the country's largest city and serves as its capital. According to the World Population review, as of 2023, Afghanistan's population is 43 million. The National Statistics Information Authority of Afghanistan estimated the population to be 32.9 million as of 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Economy of Afghanistan</span>

The economy of Afghanistan is listed as the 124th largest in the world in terms of nominal gross domestic product (GDP), and 102nd largest in the world in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP). With a population of around 41 million people, Afghanistan's GDP (nominal) stands at $14.58 billion as of 2021, amounting to a GDP per capita of $363.7. Its annual exports exceed $2 billion, with agricultural, mineral and textile products accounting for 94% of total exports. The nation's total external debt is $1.4 billion as of 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kabul International Airport</span> International airport near Kabul, Afghanistan

Kabul International Airport is located in the northern part of Kabul, Afghanistan. It is one of the country's main international airports, capable of housing over a hundred military and civilian aircraft. It is currently operated by UAE-based GAAC Holding and Afghanistan's Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)</span>

The following items form a partial timeline of the War in Afghanistan. For events prior to October 7, 2001, see 2001 in Afghanistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women in Afghanistan</span> Overview of the status of women in Afghanistan

Women's rights in Afghanistan have oscillated back and forth depending on the time period as well as the regime in power. After King Amanullah Khan's attempts to modernize the country in the 1920s, women officially gained equality under the 1964 Constitution. However, these rights were taken away in the 1990s through different temporary rulers such as the mujahideen and the Taliban during the Afghan civil war. During the first Taliban regime (1996–2001), women had very little to no freedom, specifically in terms of civil liberties. When the Taliban was overthrown by the United States following the September 11 attacks, women's rights gradually improved under the presidential Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. Women were de jure equal to men under the 2004 Constitution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Afghanistan–India relations</span> Bilateral relations

Afghanistan–India relations are the diplomatic relations between India and Afghanistan. They had been historical neighbors when India was under colonial rule and have since shared cultural ties through Bollywood and cricket.

The Afghanistan women's national cricket team was the team that represented the country of Afghanistan in international women's cricket matches. The team was first established in 2010, but played only a single tournament amidst opposition from Islamists opposed to women's sport. An attempt at revival was made in 2020 when the Afghanistan Cricket Board awarded central contracts to 25 players. However, the team was disbanded following the 2021 Taliban offensive and capture of Kabul in accordance with the Taliban's ban on women's sport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Francesco Rulli</span> Italian fashion designer & Artificial Intelligence Creator

Francesco Rulli is an Italian businessman, philanthropist and black belt Judo instructor at the New York Athletic Club. He founded MTI USA Inc. in 1995 and serves as the President. In 2006, he founded and served as the president of Film Annex, an online independent film distribution platform and web television network. He launched the Bitcoin platform bitLanders in 2014 and serves as the President. Rulli also co-founded Mrs. Mudd, a fashion and design consulting firm with American actor, producer and director John Malkovich. Rulli was a featured actor in Malkovich's documentary Flipping Uncle Kimono.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roya Mahboob</span> Afghan entrepreneur and businesswoman

Roya Mahboob is an Afghan businesswoman. She founded and is CEO of the Afghan Citadel Software Company, a full-service software development company based in Herat, Afghanistan. She has received attention for being among the first IT female CEOs in Afghanistan, where it is still relatively rare for women to work outside the home. On 18 April 2013, Mahboob was named to TIME magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World for 2013 for her work in building internet classrooms in high schools in Afghanistan and for Women's Annex, a multilingual blog and video site hosted by Film Annex. This was the 10th anniversary of the TIME special edition. The Women's Annex platform give the women of Afghanistan and Central Asia a platform to tell their stories to the world. The TIME magazine introduction to Mahboob was written by Sheryl Sandberg who is the chief operating officer of Facebook and the author of "Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead". U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met with Mahboob and other Afghan women entrepreneurs at the International Center for Women's Economic Development at the American University of Afghanistan. She is also known for her work with online film distribution platform and Web Television Network Film Annex on the Afghan Development Project. She is an advisor at the Forbes School of Business & Technology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roya Sadat</span> Afghan film producer and director (born 1983)


Roya Sadat is an Afghan film producer and director. She was the first woman director in the history of Afghan cinema in the post-Taliban era, and ventured into making feature films and documentaries on the theme of injustice and restrictions imposed on women. Following the fall of the Taliban regime in the country, she made her debut feature film Three Dots. For this film she received six of nine awards which included as best director and best film. In 2003,A Letter to the President her most famous film that received many international awards, she and her sister Alka Sadat established the Roya Film House and under this banner produced more than 30 documentaries and feature films and TV series. She is now involved to direct the opera of A Thousand Splendid Suns for the Seattle Opera and she is during pre production of her 2nd feature film Forgotten History.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taliban in Qatar</span> Taliban leaders stationed in Doha, Qatar, since 2013

Senior leaders of the Afghan Taliban have been stationed in Doha, Qatar, since the early 2010s. The original purpose for being there was to open an office that would facilitate political reconciliation between the Taliban, the government of Afghanistan, the United States and other countries. After the Taliban office building opened in 2013, peace negotiations were suspended following objections by the Afghan government that the office was being presented as the embassy of a government in exile. Taliban leaders remained in Doha with accommodation from the Qatari government, on the condition that the office cannot be used for public dealings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Cowan (venture capitalist)</span>

David Cowan is a prominent Silicon Valley venture capitalist, filmmaker, philanthropist, and company founder. He is in the Forbes Midas List Hall of Fame and has appeared on the Midas List 14 times since 2001. He co-founded three companies, including Verisign. He has invested in more than 29 companies that have gone on to IPO. He is also noted for his support of scientific skepticism and of the work of Richard Dawkins and as of 2022 a board member of Center for Inquiry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roya Rahmani</span> Afghan diplomat

Roya Rahmani is an Afghan diplomat who served as Afghanistan's first female ambassador to the United States and non-resident ambassador to Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, and the Dominican Republic from December 2018 to July 2021. She is currently the Chair of the international advisory company in development finance — Delphos International LTD. She is also a distinguished fellow at the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace, and Security, a senior advisor at the Atlantic Council's South Asia Center, and a senior fellow for international security at the New America Foundation. From 2016 to 2018, she served as Afghanistan's first female ambassador to Indonesia, first ever ambassador to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and non-resident ambassador to Singapore.

The year 2021 in Afghanistan was marked by a major offensive from the Taliban beginning in May and the Taliban capturing Kabul in August.

Events in the year 2021 in Qatar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020–2021 U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan</span> End of the 2001–21 war; second beginning of Taliban rule

The United States Armed Forces completed their withdrawal from Afghanistan on 30 August 2021, marking the end of the 2001–2021 war. In February 2020, the Trump administration and the Taliban signed the United States–Taliban deal in Doha, Qatar, which stipulated fighting restrictions for both the US and the Taliban, and in return for the Taliban's counter-terrorism commitments, provided for the withdrawal of all NATO forces from Afghanistan by May 1, 2021. Following the deal, the US dramatically reduced the number of air attacks on the Taliban at the detriment of the ANSF fighting the Taliban insurgency. The Biden administration's final decision in April 2021 to begin the withdrawal as planned on May 1, 2021, but delay the final pull-out of all US troops until September 2021, triggered the start of the collapse of the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF). This collapse led to the Taliban takeover of Kabul on 15 August 2021.

Somaya Faruqi is an Afghan student and engineer, and the captain of the Afghan Girls Robotics Team, also known as the "Afghan Dreamers." She was named to the BBC's 100 Women in 2020 and was featured by UNICEF in 2020 as well as the UN Women Generation Equality campaign in 2021. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, her team designed a prototype ventilator to help fight the coronavirus in Afghanistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 Taliban offensive</span> Military offensive by the Taliban in Afghanistan

The 2021 Taliban offensive was a military offensive by the Taliban insurgent group and allied militants that led to the fall of the Kabul-based Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the end of the nearly 20-year War in Afghanistan that had begun following the United States invasion of the country. The Taliban victory had widespread domestic and international ramifications regarding human rights and proliferation of terrorism. The offensive included a continuation of the bottom-up succession of negotiated or paid surrenders to the Taliban from the village level upwards that started following the February 2020 US–Taliban deal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fall of Herat</span> 2021 Taliban capture of Herat and battle

The Fall of Herat was a battle and subsequent capture of Herat by Taliban fighters. The attack on the city started around 28 July 2021, and ended in Taliban victory by 13 August of the same year. Several of the surrounding districts fell to the Taliban from June to mid-July, leaving only the city and two other districts in government hands by 10 July. The border crossings in Herat Province were captured by the Taliban on 9 July, raising prices of goods inside the city. Ismail Khan, former governor and warlord, led a public uprising force to assist the Afghan National Security Forces in defending the city.

References

  1. 1 2 Hadid, Diaa (2020-05-19). "Unique Robotic Team In Afghanistan Creates Affordable Ventilator Prototype". NPR.
  2. 1 2 Haidare, Sodaba (May 20, 2020). "Coronavirus: Afghan girls make ventilators out of car parts". BBC News. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  3. Mahboob, Roya (2020). "Women, girls and STEM". In Murthy, Padmini; Ansehl, Amy (eds.). Technology and Global Public Health. Switzerland: Springer. pp. 21–22. ISBN   978-3-030-46354-0.
  4. 1 2 "Nine Afghan girl robotics team members safe in Qatar". BBC News. August 20, 2021. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 Hauptman, Max (19 August 2021). "Afghanistan's robotics team broke barriers. Now it's desperate to escape the Taliban" . Washington Post. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Harman, Danna (March 30, 2019). "'In Afghanistan, We Laugh Differently'". The New York Times. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Cochrane, Emily (July 18, 2017). "Afghan Girls' Robotics Team Wins Limelight at Competition". The New York Times. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  8. Hassan, Sharif (July 21, 2017). "For Afghan girls team, a trip to Washington was about more than the robotics". The Washington Post. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  9. 1 2 "Afghan girls robotics team competes after visa obstacles". CBS News. July 17, 2017. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  10. Chokshi, Niraj (July 13, 2017). "After Visa Denials, Afghan Girls Can Attend Robotics Contest in U.S." The New York Times. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  11. Mashal, Mujib; Sukhanyar, Jawad (August 3, 2017). "Father of Afghan Robotics Team Captain Is Killed in Suicide Bombing". New York Times. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  12. Qazi, Shereena (August 3, 2017). "Father of robotics team member killed in Herat attack". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  13. 1 2 Hauser, Christine (November 29, 2017). "Afghan Girls' Robotics Team Overcomes Setbacks to Win Contest in Europe". The New York Times. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  14. UNESCO (2021). UNESCO Science Report: The race against time for smarter development. Paris: UNESCO Publishing. p. 584. ISBN   978-92-3-100450-6.
  15. Beaver, Kathy Yanchus Oakville (2018-03-08). "All-girls Afghan robotics team joins Oakville school in FIRST Robotics Canada competitions". Inside Halton. Retrieved 2023-10-11.
  16. anonymous. "A Tech School for Dreamers in Afghanistan". Yale School of Engineering & Applied Science. Retrieved 2023-10-11.
  17. 1 2 3 Hadid, Diaa (May 21, 2020). "All-Girl Robotics Team In Afghanistan Works On Low-Cost Ventilator … With Car Parts". KPBS. NPR. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  18. 1 2 3 Billing, Lynzy (March 15, 2021). "The female Afghan tech entrepreneurs inspiring each other". Al Jazeera.
  19. Akhgar, Tameem (April 19, 2020). "Ventilator from old car parts? Afghan girls pursue prototype". ABC News. Associated Press. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  20. United Nations Children’s Fund, ITU (2020). Towards an equal future: Reimagining girls' education through STEM (PDF). New York, NY: UNICEF. p. 7. ISBN   978-92-806-5178-2 . Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  21. Ghafary, Narges (August 6, 2020). "From Dream to Reality". UNICEF. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  22. "The school girls saving Afghanistan from COVID". Reuters. July 21, 2020. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  23. Lamb, Christina (July 19, 2020). "Teenage girls breathe hope into Afghanistan with Covid ventilator made of old car parts". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  24. Jaafari, Shirin (August 9, 2021). "Afghans in a city under siege by the Taliban: 'The insecurity has upended our lives'". Public Radio International . Retrieved 17 August 2021. Updated: August 13, 2021
  25. Motley, Kimberley; Stone, Meighan (August 17, 2021). "Opinion: The all-girls Afghan robotics team inspired the world. Now they're trapped, waiting to be rescued". The Washington Post. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  26. Katz, Leslie (August 16, 2021). "Afghanistan's all-girls robotics team frantically trying to flee Taliban". CNET. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  27. Sharma, Shweta (August 17, 2021). "Afghanistan's all-girls robotics team 'begging' Canada to help escape Taliban". The Independent. Yahoo! News. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  28. Bengali, Shashank; Fassihi, Farnaz (August 19, 2021). "Some members of Afghanistan's all-girls robotics team flee the country". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  29. Myre, Greg (August 19, 2021). "The Future Of The Afghan Girls Robotics Team Is Precarious". Nevada Public Radio. NPR. Archived from the original on 19 August 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  30. Sly, Eleanor (19 August 2021). "Members of female Afghan robotics team have escaped to Qatar" . The Independent. Archived from the original on 2021-08-19. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  31. Johnson, Katanga; Esposito, Anthony (August 25, 2021). "Afghan all-girl robotics team members, journalists land in Mexico". Reuters. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  32. "Female Afghan robotics team hopes to work for country". AP News. 2021-08-26. Retrieved 2023-10-11.
  33. "Afghan girls' robotic team competes from Qatar". The Frontier Post. 2021-10-15. Retrieved 2021-11-06.
  34. Cornwell, Alexander (August 26, 2021). "Don't abandon Afghanistan, pleads member of Afghan all-female robotics team". Reuters. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  35. "'Afghan Dreamers' Film, on Female Robotics Team, Underway as Producer Describes 'White-Knuckle Panic' Around Evacuation (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. August 25, 2021. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  36. Katbeh, Tala (2023). "Promoting STEM Education through the Preparation of Multicultural National Robotics Teams in Qatar (Evaluation)". 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition. doi: 10.18260/1-2--43987 via ASEE PEER.
  37. "LDC5 spotlights contributions of women and girls in tech, despite tough odds and nagging barriers | UN News". news.un.org. 2023-03-08. Retrieved 2023-10-11.
  38. 1 2 Carey, Matthew (9 May 2023). "Paramount+ To Debut 'Afghan Dreamers' May 23, "Harrowing Story" Of All-Girls Robotics Team Menaced By Taliban Rule". Deadline . Retrieved 19 September 2023.
  39. Ide, Wendy (July 7, 2022). "'Afghan Dreamers': Galway Review". Screen Daily . Retrieved 19 September 2023.
  40. "Afghan Girl Robotics Team Wins CSIC award". DID PRESS AGENCY. Retrieved 2024-06-26.
  41. "2018 Asia Game Changer Awards - Awardees". Asia Society. Retrieved 2023-10-11.
  42. Ahmad Salehi, Nasir (2021-11-01). "Afghan All-Girl Robotics Team Wins First Global's Judges Award". Tolo News. Retrieved 2024-06-26.
  43. Kang, John (2021-04-19). "Get To Know The Youngest Members Of Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia 2021". Forbes.
  44. "Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia 2021". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-10-11.
  45. "Afghan girls' robotics team win at world championships in Switzerland | Ariana News". www.ariananews.af. 2022-10-23. Retrieved 2024-06-26.