By Max Bearak / The Washington Post
Triumph has turned to tragedy for the captain of the all-girls Afghan robotics team that became one of the few feel-good stories to recently come out of the conflict-plagued country. Fatema Qaderyan’s father was confirmed as one of the dead in Tuesday’s suicide bombing in a mosque near their home in the western city of Herat. The Islamic State’s Afghan affiliate, known as ISIS-K, claimed responsibility for the attack, which killed 36 others and left almost 70 wounded.
Fatema, 14, and her five teammates became symbols of girl power when they surmounted great odds to compete in last month’s First Global robotics competition in Washington. After the equipment they needed for their entry to the contest was held up for months due to customs issues, the girls were twice denied visas to the United States, provoking public outcry. The White House reportedly stepped in to grant them the last-minute concession.
“We were not a terrorist group to go to America and scare people,” Fatema told AFP in July. “We want to take the message of peace to America and convey that Afghanistan is not only the country of war, and there are girls who chase their dreams in robots and education.”
The team’s coach, Ali Reza Mehraban, reached by phone in Herat, said Fatema had not eaten for a day and a half now. “She saw her father as her hero and mainstay,” Mehraban said, saying she did not have the energy or patience to speak to the press.
On the day of the attack, Fatemah’s ‘s father, Mohammad Asif, drove her to the offices of an nonprofit called the Digital Citizen Fund, where the girls tinkered with robotics, according to Roya Mahboob, an Afghan businesswoman who made many of the arrangements for the team’s trip to the United States.
A surge in suicide bombings has badly shaken Afghanistan. The Taliban have regained influence, if not control, in almost half of the country’s districts, and ISIS-K has routinely carried out attacks in major cities like Herat and the capital, Kabul.
Describing a meeting with Afghanistan’s top leaders upon the return of the team from Washington, Mehraban said they had pleaded with them to increase security measures around the country.
The assault on the mosque in Herat, which was attended by Shiites, marked the fifth attack on the minority group this year.
“Where is the security? Lack of security and such incidents badly affects our morale,” said Mehraban. “If we have no security, nothing can be done or achieved, but we have to be optimistic, keep going and try to forget what has happened.”
It was just two weeks ago that the girls’ team was awarded a silver medal for courageous achievement.
The Washington Post’s Sayed Salahuddin and Sharif Hassan contributed to this report.
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