U.S. To Allow Entry For Afghanistan’s All-Girl Robotics Team After First Denying Them

[Singularity]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/...ushpmg00000009


POLITICS 07/12/2017 07:00 pm ET
U.S. To Allow Entry For Afghanistan’s All-Girl Robotics Team After First Denying Request
“We could not be prouder of this delegation of young women who are also scientists” a U.S. official said.
By Sebastian Murdock
After a group of six teenage girls in Afghanistan were denied entry into the U.S. for a robotics competition, Department of Homeland Security officials have changed course and are allowing them to compete.


The girls will not be granted visas, but instead “parole,” allowing them to stay in the U.S. for 10 days ― a reversal that occurred after President Donald Trump intervened in the matter, Politico reported. The teens will be able to take their robot to the FIRST Global Challenge, an international robotics competition in Washington this month.


Ivanka Trump ✔ @Iva nkaTrump
I look forward to welcoming this brilliant team of Afghan girls, and their competitors, to Washington DC next week! #WomenInSTEM https://twitter.com/politico/status/885256996957638656 …
3:54 PM - 12 Jul 2017
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The Citizenship and Immigration Services office, which is part of DHS, approved the request from the Department of State to authorize the girls’ team and their chaperon, department spokeswoman Joanne Talbot confirmed to HuffPost.


After creating their robot and entering it in the competition, the girls made a . 500-mile trip ― twice ― from their home in Herat to the U.S. embassy in Kabul hoping to obtain the temporary visas needed to compete.


When they got news their visas would be denied, the girls were “crying all the day,” Roya Mahboob, the first female CEO of a tech company in Afghanistan and the organizer of the girls’ project, told Forbes at the time.


Now they’ll have their chance.


“The State Department worked incredibly well with the Department of Homeland Security to ensure that this case was reviewed and handled appropriately,” Dina Powell, White House deputy national security adviser for strategy, told Politico in a statement. “We could not be prouder of this delegation of young women who are also scientists ― they represent the best of the Afghan people and embody the promise that their aspirations can be fulfilled. They are future leaders of Afghanistan and strong ambassadors for their country.”


The competition will take place this coming Sunday through Tuesday.

[Singularity]

http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2...us-visa-hurdle
'Inspiring' Afghan all-girl robotics team win award after US visa hurdle



IMAGE 1/ VIDEO 1/ AUDIO
An all-girls team from Afghanistan has succesfully taken part in a major international robotics competition in Washington, after overcoming a visa obstacle which almost saw them denied entry to the US.
Source: SBS World News
1 HOUR AGO


The Afghan team was even awarded a commendation prize for persisting in the face of difficulty.


Ivanka Trump, the US president's daughter, congratulated all the competitors for participating.


“Each and every one of you is a winner and I am so inspired by what you’re doing and how you’re advancing the role, in this case of women and girls in STEM fields and in robotics," she said.


The six students from Herat in west Afghanistan took part in the First Global robotics challenge, but their passage to the competition wasn't smooth.


Every year, all nations are extended an invitation for the three-day competition.


The Afghan team were initially selected from a pool of 150 applicants and assisted by Afghanistan’s first female tech CEO Roya Mahboob.


But their joy was short-lived after they were each rejected for a one-week US travel visa to attend the event in Washington.


They were denied after twice making the dangerous 800km journey to the American Embassy in Kabul.


Their fortunes changed a week before the competition after they were given the all-clear to enter the US when President Donald Trump intervened.


Trump intervenes to allow Afghan all-girl robotics team US entry for competition
A team of Afghan girls who had been denied visas to attend a Washington robotics competition are now allowed to come, organisers said Wednesday.
According to the New York Times, an estimated 60 teams from a number of Muslim-majority nations faced similar challenges due to tighter visa policies that have been implemented under the Trump administration.


While some of their fellow competitors worked on their robots for up to four months, the team built their robot in two weeks, due to delayed shipments.


In the first round, Lida Azizi, 15, controlled the Afghan robot named 'Better Idea of Afghan Girls', leading the team to 69th place out of around 160 teams.


The team didn't go home empty-handed, winning a silver medal in the 'courageous achievement' category behind a team from South Sudan.


This award recognised teams that showed a ‘can-do’ attitude when facing unanticipated adversity.


The girls planned to celebrate with their families and continue their work when they return home.

[Singularity]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/...ushpmg00000009


WORLD NEWS 08/03/2017 04:54 pm ET
ISIS Bombing In Afghanistan Kills Father Of All-Girl Robotics Team Captain
Less than two weeks ago, 14-year-old Fatemah Qaderyan was competing with her team at a robotics contest in Washington, D.C.
By Hayley Miller
X


The father of 14-year-old Fatemah Qaderyan, team captain of the all-girl robotics team from Afghanistan whose members made headlines last month when they competed in the U.S., was killed this week in a suicide bombing.


Mohammed Asef Qaderyan, 54, had been at a mosque Tuesday in the family’s home city of Herat when attackers affiliated with the Islamic State militant group set off explosives, killing themselves and dozens of others.


Zafar Mehdi ✔ @Mehdi zafar
Fatemah Qaderyan, captain of Afghan robotics team, with her father last month. He was killed yesterday in Herat mosque attack. (Pic: AFP)
9:15 AM - Aug 3, 2017
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Just 10 days earlier, Fatemah and her five teammates had won a silver medal for “courageous achievement” at an international robotics contest in Washington, D.C.


“I am so excited, and very, very happy,” Fatemah told The New York Times after her team earned the silver medal. “I still can’t believe this happened.”


The team gained widespread attention after the U.S. embassy in Kabul denied their visa requests twice, prompting international outage. The girls, who had twice traveled nearly 500 miles to the Afghan capital to apply for their visas, were eventually granted “parole” that would allow them to stay in the U.S. for 10 days after President Donald Trump intervened in the matter.


During the competition, Fatemah told Al Jazeera that her father was her “greatest support.”


Roya Mahboob, an Afghan entrepreneur whose company sponsored the team’s trip, confirmed Mohammed’s death in a tweet on Thursday.


View image on TwitterView image on TwitterView image on Twitter
Roya Mahboob ✔ @RoyaMahboob
Condolences to Team Afghanistan's captain,Fatemah whose father passed away in recent attack by ISIS in Herat.His daughter made him so proud
9:15 PM - Aug 2, 2017
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″[Fatemah] is very angry and is not eating or speaking to anyone,” Ali Reza Mehrban, the team’s director, told Al Jazeera. “She is going through a very difficult time.”


Tuesday’s bombing in Herat is only the latest attack against Afghan civilians in the country’s bloody, drawn-out war. More than 1,700 Afghan civilians have been killed in the past six months alone, according to the Times.


On Wednesday, two U.S. service members were killed when a suicide bomber attacked a NATO-led convoy in the Kandahar province.