The team made headlines when members were denied entrance to the U.S. in 2017 for a competition – but eventually made it and won the first round.
A celebrated all-girl robotics team from Afghanistan made it out of the country safely and are now in Qatar. Officials there sent a plane to evacuate the young girls, after the team’s organization, Digital Citizen Fund, worked with Qatar’s government to secure visas. The team, known as the Afghan Dreamers, made headlines in 2017 when they were twice while trying to travel to the country for an international robotics competition in Washington. To get to the U.S., the girls traveled 500 miles – twice – from their home in Western Afghanistan through Taliban-controlled territory to Kabul to get visas. Then-President Donald Trump intervened at the last minute to allow them into the U.S. during his administration’s ban on travelers from six majority-Muslim countries. Their package of robot parts was delayed due to concerns about terrorism. They had only two weeks to build their robots, while other groups at the competition had much longer. But still, they won the first round of the competition, CBS News’ Chip Reid to overcome war, hardship and U.
