Afghan robotics team continues to rise above challenges for competition

In July 2017, an Afghanistani girls’ robotics team, was denied entry to the U.S. twice before being allowed entry for the FIRST Global Challenge, an international robotics competition. There was an uproar because the US previously had advocated for Afghan girls’ education. Eventually, for the competition, the six girls aged 14-17 were allowed entry on parole, which authorized a single, temporary entry to the U.S. for public benefit.

For the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Global Challenge in the summer, which included 160 different teams from across the globe, the team created a ball sorting robot, that was meant to represent separating clean water and dirty water. Despite having four months less to prepare than other competitors, the team managed win a silver medal for “courageous achievement” and for enduring the challenges they faced to compete. Overall, they placed 114th, higher than teams from the United States and the United Kingdom.

Ten days after the competition, the team faced another setback; a death. Mohammed Asef Qaderyan, the father of team captain Fatemah Qaderyan, was killed in a suicide bombing by ISIS in a mosque near their home in Herat. The team did not let this upsetting event hold them back.

In November, these girls won the Entrepreneur Challenge in the biggest robotics competition in Europe, Robotex Festival, which was held in Estonia. From November 24th to November 26th, the team showed off their robot that could use solar energy to help small-scale farmers on their farms. To win the Entrepreneur Challenge, competitors must build a robot and in addition, design marketing flyers and present a sales pitch. This robot, named “Harēv,” competed with seven other robots in the challenge. Afghanistan placed first, with Poland in second place, and Estonia in third.

Ambassador of Afghanistan to the United Kingdom, Tayeb Jawad, told NPR, “They are an excellent example for people around the world of what can be accomplished by young Afghans if given the right support and the opportunity to excel in their education.”.

Once the competition was over, the girls rushed back home for school exams, said team sponsor Roya Mahboob.
The Thomson Reuters Foundation reported that the team has been invited to a competition in the U.S. in May “where they will compete for investment money to start their own company,” citing the Embassy.