Afghan girls robotics team will have to watch competition on Skype after being refused US visas – Telegraph.co.uk

A team of Afghan girls who created a robot to compete in an event in the United States will have to watch it perform on the internet after they were refused visas.

The six-strong team of girls'from Herat had their robot selected to compete in the FIRST Global Challenge competition in Washington.

Joe Sestak, a US congressman who is president of the the competition, said: "I'm deeply saddened about the Afghan team not getting visas."

On the competition website a biography for the Afghan girls' team said: "As a dedicated group of students, mentors, and volunteers, we aim to transform the culture of our community and become some of the young leaders of science and technology."

Arrangements are being made for the girls to watch on Skype as their robot competes against other teams from around the world.

Afghanistan is not on the list of six predominantly Muslim countries named in President Donald Trump's temporary travel ban order.

But teams from Iran and Sudan, which are named in the order, were given visas. So was a "Team of Hope" made up of Syrian refugees.

The US State Department approved 112 business visas for Afghan visitors in May, much less than for Syria or Iran, according to latest figures.

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Afghan girls robotics team will have to watch competition on Skype after being refused US visas - Telegraph.co.uk