26 out Afghan all-girls team challenge status quo to compete in robotics contest

DUBAI, 26th October, 2019 (WAM) — The Afghanistan booth at the FIRST Global Challenge 2019 in Dubai is packed, with hardly any space to move with the teenaged all-girl Afghan Dreamers team being filmed for a documentary and being trailed everywhere by a camera crew while curious bystanders look on.

Afghan Dreamers amassed thousands of supporters and fans on social media platforms.

The robotics team of five have flown around the world competing in international challenges and won awards at FIRST Robotics World Championships and Robotex International.

“I am from a country where women are discouraged from attending school and traditionally get married before the age of 18,” says Roya Mahboob, Mentor of the Afghan Dreamers, who was featured in TIME’s 100 Most Influential Figures in 2013 list for building free internet-enabled classrooms in Afghanistan. “Our society is male-dominated, and professions in engineering or science are often deemed more appropriate for men.”

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