Afghan girls visit US with Trump support
A TEAM of Afghan girls who had been denied visas to attend a Washington science contest spoke of Donald Trump’s support yesterday after US authorities changed course and allowed them to visit.
Clutching Afghan flags and waving to photographers, the schoolgirls yesterday boarded a plane in Herat in western Afghanistan bound for Washington, where they will become the first robotics team to represent the war-torn country overseas.
US authorities had originally refused access for schoolchildren from a number of Muslim-majority nations to participate in the science contest, following implementation of stricter visa policies under Trump.
But the US president urged a reversal following a public outcry over the Afghan girls’ inability to attend the event, according to US media, with the decision announced on Wednesday.
“The president of the United States and the people of America supported us in this case, which shows they have not forgotten us,” one competitor, Yasamin Yasinzadah, said in Herat.
Fatema Qaderyan, 14, said: “We want to take the message of peace to America and convey that Afghanistan is not only a country of war, and there are girls who chase their dreams in robots and education.”
Organiser Ali Reza Mehraban, of the Digital Citizen Foundation, said the decision meant supporting peace and women of Afghanistan, who have been deprived of everything for the past 40 years.
Organisers First Global’s president, Joe Sestak, said he was most grateful for the decision, noting that teams from Gambia, Yemen, Libya and Morocco would also attend.
“All 163 teams from 157 countries have approval from the United States, including Iran, Sudan and a team of Syrian refugees,” he said.