Afghan Girls Robotics Team Lands in Mexico After Begging to Come to Canada

Five graduates of Afghanistan’s first all-girls robotics team have fled the country and landed in Mexico.

"We give you the warmest welcome to Mexico," said Mexican Deputy Foreign Minister Martha Delgado on Tuesday in Mexico City, where she greeted the robotics team members.

Mexico has committed to supporting Afghan women and girls, Reuters reported, and has already started processing refugee applications alongside Guillermo Puente Ordorica, Ambassador of Mexico in Iran.

The good news comes after the team pleaded with Canada to grant them refuge. Last week, prominent human rights lawyer Kimberley Motley appealed to Canada to welcome the girls robotics team shortly after the Taliban started moving into the capital city of Kabul. According to the lawyer, the girls had a “life-changing” experience in the country after winning a top award and meeting Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in 2018. 

“We are literally begging the Canadian government, we are begging Prime Minister Trudeau—who has been an amazing supporter of the Afghan girls robotics team—to please allow them to come to Canada,” Motley said at the time.

But the girls aren’t in Canada—five are in Mexico, while others made it to Qatar last week.

“They’re in Mexico. That’s what I can say. They're not in Canada or the U.S.,” Motley said. 

The girls who just landed in Mexico are graduates of the robotics team program, she said, meaning many younger girls who are affiliated with the team are still in Afghanistan.

“There are thousands, thousands of girls who need to be protected,” Motley said. “Well, actually millions.”

VICE World News asked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office whether it was aware of the all-girls robotics team’s pleas last week, but did not hear back. 

Securing safety and refuge for Afghan women and girls is increasingly urgent as the window for evacuating people out of the country closes. The U.S. started withdrawing troops from the region earlier this month, with President Biden pledging to finish evacuation efforts by Aug. 31. 

Canada has pledged to welcome 20,000 Afghan refugees, although it’s worth noting that many of those may have already fled Afghanistan and are waiting in a third country. As of Sunday, Canada managed to evacuate about 1,100 people. Trudeau has blamed evacuation delays on the Taliban’s presence at Kabul’s airport, and said he’d consider pushing Canadian evacuation efforts beyond the Aug. 31 deadline, as long as it’s safe to do so.

Motley said the White House needs to be held accountable for the human rights “failure” that’s unfolding in Afghanistan right now. She cited the “arbitrary” Aug. 31 evacuation deadline as a major problem. 

“Biden should have never given a day… Once he gave this date the Taliban was like, ‘Well, that's your date.” It’s so ridiculous,” Motley said. 

The Taliban, a militant group that imposes strict interpretations of Islamic law, controlled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001, until U.S.-backed forces overthrew the regime. It notoriously barred women from public life and banned music, movies, and television, and has been accused of a number of human rights abuses, including violent punishment of dissidents and treating young women and girls as sex slaves.

After 20 years of unrest and U.S. occupation, U.S. troops are withdrawing, and the Taliban has resurged, seizing most of the country, including the capital city of Kabul. 

Widespread concerns around the futures of women and girls in the country are making headlines around the world, with no one able to say for sure whether they’ll be safe. Taliban spokespersons have said women will be allowed to continue work as long as it’s in line with Islamic law. Now, civilians are waiting to see what that will look like, and concerning reports of escalating aggression are already starting to arise. 

It’s unknown whether the girls’ robotics team will be able to operate in Afghanistan, but Motley said she hopes the Taliban will allow it to continue. 

“The robotics team has been beloved by Afghans for years, just like by the world, so I'm hopeful the Taliban will have an open mind,” Motley said.

Female Afghan soccer players have also fled the Taliban and made it safely to Australia, the first country to offer the women haven after a network of advocates and human rights lawyers pleaded with the international community to accept them.

Follow Anya Zoledziowski on Twitter.