Afghan girls get to compete after visa obstacles
WASHINGTON — Their team shirts didn’t say “Afghanistan” and their name badges were handwritten, not typed, suggesting the last-minute nature of their entry into the United States. But the Afghan girls competing Monday in an international robotics competition in Washington were clearly excited to be representing their nation.
The team of six teenage girls was twice rejected for U.S. visas before President Trump intervened at the last minute. They arrived in Washington from their hometown of Herat, Afghanistan, early Saturday, and their ball-sorting robot competed in its first round Monday morning.
“We were so interested, because we find a big chance to show the talent and ability of Afghans, show that Afghan women can make robots, too,” said Rodaba Noori, one of the team members. She acknowledged, though, that the team “hadn’t long, or enough time to get ready for competition.”
The girls’ struggle to overcome war, hardship and U.S. bureaucracy on their journey to the U.S. capital has made their team stand out among more than 150 competing in the FIRST Global Challenge, a robotics competition designed to encourage youths to pursue careers in math and science.
The U.S. won’t say why the girls were rejected for visas, citing confidentiality rules. But Afghan Ambassador Hamdullah Mohib said that based on discussions with U.S. officials, it appears the girls, who are 14 to 16 years old, were turned away due to concerns they would not return to Afghanistan.
Speaking with the assistance of a translator who summarized their remarks, 14-year-old team member Fatemah Qaderyan said she was grateful to be able to compete. Her teammate, 15-year-old Lida Azizi, said she was a little nervous but also excited to be playing and proud.
Though there was a crush of media attention, the girls looked much like other competitors, wearing jeans along with white headscarves.
“I’m so happy they can play,” said their mentor, Alireza Mehraban, a software engineer. “They are so happy to be here.”
While teams had up to four months to build their robots, the Afghan team built theirs in two weeks before it had to be shipped to reach the competition in time, Mehraban said.
Mehraban said their robot managed to score one or two points in the first game and in the final two games of the day they got their robot to successfully hang from a bar, which earned additional points. The team will play three more matches Tuesday.