“Rule Breakers” will bring Afghanistan’s first all-girl robotics team to the big screen on March 7

The brave story of Afghanistan’s first all-girl robotics team is coming to a theater near you.

Rule breakers The film is based on the true story of the Afghan girls’ robotics team, which captured the world’s attention when they were just there Members were denied visas by the United States In 2017 while trying to compete in the first World Challenge robotics competition. Fifty-three members of Congress signed a petition, and President Donald Trump intervened to grant the girls travel documents on special humanitarian grounds that would allow them to enter the United States and compete in robotics games, according to the British Daily Mail. New York Times Introductory account.

The story of the team’s struggle to compete in the robotics competition goes much deeper than their attempts to enter the United States. First Global founder Dean Kamen, best known for designing the Segway, put together his own competitive robotics league as a way to spark interest in science and technology among high school students. He invited and recruited an Afghan technology entrepreneur and Digital Citizen Fund (DCF) Its founder, Roya Mahboob, has formed an all-girl robotics team for the competition, dubbed the Afghan Dreamers. 12 girls formed the first team and worked on creating their own robot in Mahboob’s parents’ basement using whatever tools they could find as well as parts donated by Kamen, according to The Guardian. times.

The film tells the story of the team’s deep and perilous struggle to compete and pursue their passion. The Taliban’s return to power in 2021 reversed years of gender equality and freedom struggles by preventing women from receiving education in science and technology, forcing some team members to flee their country for their safety and the right to pursue their future. Their terms. said team member Sadaf Hamidi, who fled to Qatar in 2021 NBC News Last year, one of her sisters had to give up her dream of going to medical school, saying, “This is heartbreaking for me and for them.”

Rule breakers It is directed by two-time Academy Award winner Bill Guttentag, and stars Nicole Boucherie as love interest W Fleabag Phoebe Waller-Bridge. The film hits theaters on March 7, 2025.