2024 Press Highlights

BU Today:  “We Will Not Remain Silent”


2023 Press Highlights

BBC: Afghanistan’s female robot builders win 2nd place among 190 countries in international competition

TOLO: Amiri Urges Investment in Female Education in Afghanistan

PBS: Roya Mahboob discusses the decimation of women’s rights after two years of Taliban rule.

Virginia Tech: Afghan student Ayda Haydarpour finds a sense of purpose at Virginia Tech

NBC News: After fleeing for their lives, Afghan girls robotics team mourns what they left behind

UN News: Digital ambition: How one Afghan student plans to get girls back to school

Forbes: Fighting For Girls’ Education In Afghanistan

Deadline: Nikohl Boosheri & Ali Fazal Lead ‘Afghan Dreamers’ About The Inspiring True Story Of The All-Girls Robotics Team From Afghanistan


2022 Press Highlights

Al Jazeera: Appeal at UN for world leaders to protect Afghan girls’ education

Cornell News: Afghan Dreamers, Cornell Cup Robotics launch World Cup Dreams

Reuters: At U.N., emotional appeals for world leaders to protect Afghan girls’ education

The Peninsula Qatar: Roya Mahboob wins Doha Forum 2022 Award

Tolo News: Roya Mahboob Wins Doha Forum 2022 Award

Virgin: Multigenerational challenges require intergenerational solutions

Virginia Public Radio: Robotics champion fled Afghanistan. Now she’s studying at Virginia Tech


2021 Press Highlights

Virgin Unite: How Roya Mahboob is fighting extremism by supporting women in tech

Teen Vogue: 21 Under 21 of 2021: The Young People Shaping Tomorrow

First Global: And They Persevered-The FIRST Global Afghan Girls Robotic Team

UNICEF: Daring to Dream

UN News: Supporting a future for girls’ education in Afghanistan

Forbes:  Afghan Girls’ Robotics Team Continues Education And Training In Qatar After Fleeing Taliban Danger

Bloomberg:  Blinken Meets Afghan Girls Robotics Team

NBC: Afghan female robotics team defiant after fleeing Taliban to Qatar

BBC: Afghan robotics team beings inspirational new chapter 

Washington Post: Afghan robotics team arrives in Doha ‘Girls Rescued Themselves’ 

BBC: Nine Afghan girl robotics team members safe in Qatar

ABC: Afghan girls robotics team happy they ‘can achieve our dreams’

Reuters: Don’t abandon Afghanistan, pleads member of Afghan all-female robotics team

NPR: The Future Of The Afghan Girls Robotics Team Is Precarious

Washington Post: Afghanistan’s robotics team broke barriers. Now it’s desperate to escape the Taliban.

New York Times: Some members of Afghanistan’s all-girls robotics team flee the country.

NPR:  All-Girl Robotics Team In Afghanistan Works On Low-Cost Ventilator

Aljazeera: The female Afghan tech entrepreneurs inspiring each other

UNESCO Science Report: The race against time for smarter development


2020 Press Highlights 

Reuters: Afghan all-girls robotics team designs low-cost ventilator to treat coronavirus patients

BBC: Afghan girls make ventilators out of car parts

UNICEF: Afghanistan’s Girls’ Robotic Team Breaks New Paths

Fast Company: Afghanistan’s all-girl robotics team is building emergency ventilators out of car parts

NPR: Unique Robotic Team In Afghanistan Creates Affordable Ventilator Prototype

VOA: Ventilator From Old Car Parts? Afghan Girls Pursue Prototype

ABC News: Ventilator from old car parts? Afghan girls pursue prototype

United Nations Children’s Fund, ITU (2020). Towards an equal future: Reimagining girls’ education through STEM

The Sunday Times: Teenage girls breathe hope into Afghanistan with Covid ventilator made of old car parts



2019 Press Highlights

TOLO: Robotic Expo Held by Herat Girls

ABC News: Afghan female leaders urge Trump administration to stand up for their rights in Taliban peace talks

New York Times: ‘In Afghanistan, We Laugh Differently

Yale School of Engineering & Applied Science: A Tech School for Dreamers in Afghanistan

New York Times: Empower and Educate Afghanistan’s Youth to Ensure a Peaceful Future

Yale News: Arch students help design tech school in Afghanistan

Council on Foreign Relations: Investing in Girls’ STEM Education



2018 Press Highlights

The Chicago Council: GIRLS LEADING – From Rural Economies to Global Solutions

CNN: How I became captain of the winning all-girls Afghan robotics team

CNN: Teen robotics champ fights to empower Afghan girls

ABC News: Girls robotics team says it won’t be cowed by ISIS threats: ‘We won’t surrender!’

Vice News: The All-Girl Afghan Robotics Team Was Banned from Entering the US. Now It’s Inspiring a Revolution

Council on Foreign Relations: Building a Skilled GirlForce: Lessons from Roya Mahboob

National Review: An Afghan Girl


2017 Press Highlights

Washington Post: “For Afghan girls team, a trip to Washington was about more than the robotics”

New York Times: Afghan Girls’ Robotics Team Overcomes Setbacks to Win Contest in Europe

New York Times:  Afghan Girls’ Robotics Team Wins Limelight at Competition

Washington Post: After Visa Delays Afghan Girls Robotics Team Arrives in DC 

Glamour: The Afghan Girls Robotics Team Will Be Allowed to Visit the U.S. After All

Mashable: The Afghan girls robotics team just won a silver medal

NPR: Afghan Girls Robotics Team Takes Home A Top Honor In European Contest