Muslim Ban? US to finally allow Afghan girls to visit for robotics contest
Afghan girls will finally travel to US for a robotics competition after being rejected twice
(Web Desk) - The United States has finally decided to allow a group of Afghan girls to travel to the country to participate in an international robotics competition after being denied entry twice, according to a report.
After President Donald Trump stepped in, the US State Department and Department of Homeland Security decided to allow the girls entry following an outcry of criticism. Of 162 teams from around the world competing in the FIRST Global Challenge in Washington, the Afghan girls were the only ones denied entry visas.
It was unclear why the girls were barred entry into US since Afghanistan is not part of Trump’s order to temporarily ban travel from six Muslim-majority countries. Teams from Syria, Iran and Sudan — which are on that list — were granted visas to compete.
The girls wanted to show the world that Afghans could also construct a hand-made robot. Courtesy: AP
Earlier, the State Department and Department of Homeland Security came up with the idea of “paroling” the girls.
Parole is a temporary status in which a person who is otherwise ineligible to enter the country is allowed in temporarily because of an emergency or humanitarian purpose, or because it’s deemed to be in the public good.
Without the reversal, which was first reported by Politico, the girls would have had to watch via video link from their hometown in western Afghanistan. The incident led to a lot of criticism towards the US authorities for creating more obstacles for the Afghan team who are already struggling in war-torn Afghanistan where Taliban once banned girls from even going to school.
The girls wanted to show the world that Afghans could also construct a hand-made robot and they had been deeply disappointed by the initial rejections.
The president’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, greeted the girls by posting a tweet on Wednesday.
I look forward to welcoming this brilliant team of Afghan girls, and their competitors, to Washington DC next week! #WomenInSTEM https://t.co/01qDduyglS
— Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) July 12, 2017
The non-profit organizing the competition celebrated the reversal in a jubilant statement Wednesday.
“I truly believe our greatest power is the power to convene nations, to bring people together in the pursuit of a common goal and prove that our similarities greatly outweigh our differences,” said Joe Sestak, the president of First Global. He credited “the professional leadership of the U.S. State Department” for ensuring that all 163 teams from 157 countries, including a team of Syrian refugees, would be able to participate.
