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The courageous story of Afghanistan’s first all-female robotics team is coming to a theater near you.
Rule breakers is based on the true story of the Afghan girls’ robotics team, which came to the world’s attention when the United States denied them membership visas in 2017 while they were trying to compete in the First Global Challenge international robotics competition. Fifty-three members of Congress signed a petition and President Donald Trump intervened to give the girls special humanitarian travel documents that would allow them to enter the United States and compete in the robotics games, according to a report. New York Times profile.
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The story of the team’s struggle to compete in the robotics competition goes much deeper than their attempts to enter the United States. First Global founder Dean Kamen, best known for designing the Segway, created his competitive robotics league as a way to spark interest in science and technology among high school students. Invited and recruited Afghan technology entrepreneurs and Digital Citizen Fund (DCF) founder Roya Mahboob to form an all-female robotics team for the competition dubbed Afghan Dreamers. A dozen girls made the cut as the first team and worked on their robotic creation in Mahboob’s parents’ basement using whatever they could find as tools along with parts donated by Kamen, according to the Times.
The film tells the story of the team’s deep and dangerous struggle to compete and pursue their passions. The Taliban’s return to power in 2021 reversed years of gender equality and freedom struggle by banning women from receiving education in science and technology, forcing some of the team members to flee their country for their own safety and the right to pursue your future on your terms. Team member Sadaf Hamidi, who fled to Qatar in 2021, said NBC News last year that one of her sisters had to give up her dream of going to medical school saying, “This is heartbreaking for me and for them.”
Rule breakers is directed by two-time Academy Award winner Bill Guttentag and stars Nikohl Boosheri as Mahboob and flea bag Phoebe Waller-Bridge. The film hits theaters on March 7, 2025.
