No matter where it is, women have always been a minority in STEM, especially in countries where women have been restricted from the fundamental opportunities to develop and inspire others. This article is a glimpse into the story of young women who raced to victory in a setting where making one move was life-threatening.
About the Movie:
Rule Breakers, a movie produced by Angel Studios highlights the struggle of women in Afghanistan who are trying to learn computers and join the FIRST robotics challenge. This empowering and emotional movie is set to release on March 7th, 2025 (right around International Women’s Day) and reflects on the true story of Roya and Elaha Mahboob who introduced and inspired women in Afghanistan to pursue an interest in computers, technology, and STEM. A movie directed by Bill Guttentag features Ali Fazal, Nikohl Boosheri, and many more incredible actors.
The movie is specifically based on an all-girls robotics team (“The Afghan Dreamers”) in Herat (a city in Afghanistan) which was established in 2017 by Roya and Elaha Mahboob. The all-girls team had to deal with plightful situations to learn how robots work and progress in creating their own. Despite all the challenges, this team made it to the FIRST Global Challenge in Washington where teams from more than 160 countries were present. All their hard work paid off when they arrived back in Afghanistan with a medal for the Courageous Award along with ranking 114 out of 163 teams!
“Roya and her Team is a theatrical story; every day we filmed, we endeavoured to capture that drama. Along with Elaha and the rest of our production team and cast, we wanted to create a film that would have an audience connect with the amazing story, while also highlighting the importance of STEM education for girls. We are thrilled to be partnering with the team at Angel Films to tell Roya and her team’s inspiring and powerful story.” -Bill Guttentag (from the Angel Studios Website).
What is Next:
While the team itself has progressed in breaking stereotypes and overcoming the obstacles the story isn’t over just yet. A few weeks after the return of the 6 girls who represented the Afghan Dreamers team, the Taliban and Afghanistan war escalated, making it extremely hard for these women to continue their work safely. While the situations aren’t as tense as of now, the barriers that existed before they went to Worlds still exist in their communities in the current day.
One remarkable achievement they have performed during COVID-19 was addressing the lack of ventilators in Afghanistan. Considering the heavy cost of ventilators and insufficient funds, it was harder to treat COVID-19 patients. This girls’ team used their innovative minds to develop an automated bag valve mask ventilation unit. The creation of this cost-effective ventilator device was fraught with setbacks including limited tools and closed shops during the lockdown. Once again these women overcame the challenges and were successful in their mission.
“We used locally available second-hand car spare parts to assemble the device,” says Somaya. “We worked around the clock to fill a gap on a direly needed ventilator to treat COVID-19 acute cases.” -Soumaya Farooqi (captain of the Robotics Team). This quote was captured in a UNICEF article that emphasizes these resilient women.
More on Roya and Elaha Mahboob:
These women were the ones who went on the journey to convince young women to initiate their journeys in STEM. Apart from this, they established the Digital Citizen Fund (DCF). The DCF has a goal of supporting women and girls in getting basic resources like technology and education to build financial independence.
If you would like to learn more about the DCF you can visit their website.
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