'We left family, friends without a goodbye' - member of all-girl Afghan robotics team

Record ID: 1633642

  • Title: 'We left family, friends without a goodbye' - member of all-girl Afghan robotics team
  • Date: 25th August 2021
  • Summary: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (FILE - JULY 17, 2017) (REUTERS) AFGHAN TEAM MEMBERS WATCHING AFGHAN TEAM MEMBERS TAKING ROBOT OFF COMPETITION FLOOR
  • Embargoed: 8th September 2021 14:31
  • Keywords: Afghanistan All-girls robotics Afghan team Conflict Taliban U.S. Women
  • Location: HERAT, AFGHANISTAN / WASHINGTON, DC, UNITED STATES / DOHA, QATAR
  • City: HERAT, AFGHANISTAN / WASHINGTON, DC, UNITED STATES / DOHA, QATAR
  • Country: Afghanistan
  • Topics: Asia / Pacific,Conflicts/War/Peace
  • Reuters ID: LVA005ERS3SQV
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Nine members of an all-girl Afghan robotics team are currently in Doha after being evacuated last week from the Afghani capital, Kabul, following Taliban quick takeover of the country.
    The robotics team, originally from the city of Herat, first made headlines after winning a special award at an international robotics competition in Washington DC in 2017.
    Most of the team has now been evacuated from Afghanistan after the Taliban seized power.
    "We had dreams, we left our families, we left our friends, we left all of our relatives and without saying any goodbye to them," team member, Ayda Haydarpour, told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday (August 25).
    The group took over Afghanistan last week as the United States and its allies withdrew troops from the country. The White House and U.S. allies are racing to complete the evacuation of all foreigners and vulnerable Afghans before the expiry of an August 31 deadline agreed with the Taliban, U.S. President Joe Biden said this week.
    The team, made up of girls and women as young as 14, has been heralded for winning international awards for its robots and started work in March on an open-source, low-cost ventilator as the coronavirus pandemic hit the war-torn nation.
    The Taliban, which previously barred girls from schools and women from working when they ruled Afghanistan in the late 1990s, has promised to prioritize women's rights and girls' education.
    The team was split up with 5 other members of the robotics team landing in Mexico on Tuesday (August 24).
    (Production: Alexander Cornwell, Eman Kamel, Bilal Al Sebai, Tarek Fahmy)
  • Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2021. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
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