The courageous story of Afghanistan’s first female robotics team is coming to a theater near you.
“Rule Breakers” is based on the true story of the Afghan women’s robotics team that gained worldwide attention in 2017 when they attempted to compete in the international robotics competition “First Global Challenge” and were denied member visas by the United States. According to a profile in the New York Times, 53 members of Congress signed a petition and President Donald Trump intervened to allow the girls to enter the United States and compete in a robotics competition on special humanitarian grounds. He reportedly gave them travel documents.
The story of the team’s struggle to compete in a robotics competition is much deeper than their attempt to break into the United States. Dean Kamen, founder of First Global, known for designing the Segway, launched a competitive robotics league as a way to spark interest in science and technology among high school students. He invited Roya Mahboob, an Afghan technology entrepreneur and founder of the Digital Citizens Fund (DCF), to help her form an all-female robotics team for the competition, nicknamed Afghanistan Dreamers. According to the Times, more than a dozen girls competed to form the first team, which built the robot in Mahboob’s parents’ basement using whatever tools they could find and parts donated by Kamen. He said he worked on the production.
The film tells the story of the deep and dangerous struggle of a team competing and pursuing their passions. When the Taliban returned to power in 2021, it reversed years of struggles for gender equality and freedom by banning women from receiving science and technology education, and some team members feared for their safety and future. The right to pursue forced him to flee the country. their terms. Sadaf Hamidi, a team member who defected to Qatar in 2021, told NBC News last year that one of his sisters had to give up on her dream of going to medical school. “This is heartbreaking for me and for them.” That’s true,” he said.
Rule Breakers is directed by two-time Academy Award winner Bill Guttentag and stars Nicole Boucheri (Maboub) and Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag). The film will be released in theaters on March 7, 2025.
