19 Nov And They Persevered — The FIRST Global Afghan Girls Robotic Team

FIRST Global Team Afghanistan has continued to inspire ever since their debut in 2017 when they were initially twice denied, and then later granted, visas to attend the FIRST Global Challenge in Washington, DC.

Although the students on the team have changed over the years, they’ve had the same mission and continued dedication — to pursue education in order to serve others and solve problems in their community.

As they’ve developed their skills over the years, they’ve built a variety of devices for this purpose, including a wheelchair controlled by eye movement, a drone, a metal detector robot, and more. So when the COVID-19 pandemic took hold, the team quickly set to work building a ventilator out of car parts. Then, a robot that could sanitize surfaces using UVC light. They even partnered with the Ministry of Health in order to produce even more devices for use throughout the region.

But in August of 2021, the United States of America withdrew from Afghanistan. Taliban forces immediately moved in. Within a matter of days, the country was completely different.

Team Afghanistan’s activities were disrupted in the middle of the 2021 FIRST Global Challenge, and with no internet and limited ability to even leave their homes, they faced immense barriers to continuing their participation.

Despite these many reasons to drop out of the competition, they persevered forward.

They had to continue their education.

“We wanted to show the world that girls have abilities, and all the Afghan generation have abilities, they just need the facilities to make a big change in the world,” said student-turned-mentor Somaya.

The team made the difficult decision to leave their home country, families, friends, and previous robotics work all behind. They struggled for several days to make it out of the country, until they were finally able to do so with the help of the Qatari government.

They made it to Doha and promptly asked for their robot kit of parts and CubeSat prototype kit to be shipped there so they could continue their participation in the FIRST Global Challenge. And continue they did.

The girls enrolled in school to continue their studies, while FIRST Global Team Qatar helped them settle in, receive their kits, and even access a dedicated workspace with the tools and equipment they needed. The team quickly caught up with their activities for the FIRST Global Challenge.

“I believe strongly that as a key to our future is the children we are teaching today,” said Roya Mahboob, founder and organizer of the team. “By allowing these young women the opportunity, we actually give them a chance to change the lives of themselves, and their children, and women throughout Afghanistan. And they are proving that they can be the master of their own destiny and the future.”

Inspired by their perseverance and furthering of FIRST Global values despite extraordinary obstacles, FIRST Global judges gave the team special recognition during the 2021 FIRST Global Challenge Celebration by awarding them the Judges Award.

Despite the life-altering circumstances they’ve faced, the girls on the team are determined now more than ever to finish their education in order to go back to their country and use the skills and knowledge they’ve gained to serve their people.

“When I graduate from the university and return to Afghanistan, and [I want to] be a minister in Afghanistan and work in education and technology and helping our people,” said team member Shabnam. “Afghanistan women and the Afghanistan girls have a lot of ability. When they have opportunity, they can do it. And I wanna one thing from you — never forget them.”