DOHA, QATAR - Qatar has granted academic scholarships to members of a girls' robotics team from Afghanistan dubbed the \"Afghan Dreamers,\" the Persian Gulf nation's education and science foundation said on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Qatar has been instrumental in efforts to evacuate at-risk Afghans and foreigners from Kabul airport, including members of the team who are being housed in Doha's Education City campus of schools and universities.<\/p>\n
\"They will receive scholarships that enable them to keep pursuing their studies through a partnership between Qatar Foundation (QF) and Qatar Fund for Development,\" QF said in a statement.<\/p>\n
The team of high-achieving high school girls has about 20 members, mostly still in their teens, and are now dotted around the world with some in Qatar as well as Mexico.<\/p>\n
The girls made headlines in 2017 after being denied visas to take part in a robotics competition in Washington -- before then-President Donald Trump intervened and they were allowed to travel.<\/p>\n
Last year, they worked to build a low-cost medical ventilator from car parts hoping to boost hospital equipment during the coronavirus pandemic.<\/p>\n
\"These talented, creative students have been living through a time of uncertainty and upheaval, and at Qatar Foundation we want to do whatever we can,\" said Sheikha HindbintHamad Al-Thani, vice-chairwoman and chief executive of QF.<\/p>\n
\"By providing them with scholarships to study at Education City, their education can now continue uninterrupted.\"<\/p>\n
The girls' needs were being assessed to determine which schools or pre-universityprogramsthey should be placed in, she added.<\/p>\n
The Taliban's seizure of power a little over one week ago has furled a chaotic mass exodus as many Afghans fear a repeat of the brutal interpretation of Islamic law implemented during the militants' 1996-2001 rule.<\/p>\n
U.S. Secretary of State AntonyBlinkenmet with several members of the team on Tuesday during a whirlwind tour of the emirate.<\/p>\n
\"You're famous around the world and a source of inspiration,\" he told them. \"The story you've alreadytoldabout the importance about women engaging in science... sends an important message around the world, well beyond Afghanistan.\"<\/p>\n
Roya Mahboob, the founder of the Digital Citizen Fund, parentorganizationof the team, said the girls were \"excited and grateful for this opportunity to study abroad.<\/p>\n
She also questionedBlinkenon what the future would hold for Afghan women.<\/p>\n
Several other members of the robotics team, none of whom were identified for security reasons, have relocated to Mexico.<\/p>\n
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Qatar Awards Scholarship to Afghan Girls' Robotics Team - Voice of America<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" DOHA, QATAR - Qatar has granted academic scholarships to members of a girls' robotics team from Afghanistan dubbed the \"Afghan Dreamers,\" the Persian Gulf nation's education and science foundation said on Tuesday. Qatar has been instrumental in efforts to evacuate at-risk Afghans and foreigners from Kabul airport, including members of the team who are being housed in Doha's Education City campus of schools and universities Continue reading