Afghan girls granted US visas for robotics competition after twice being denied
A team of Afghan girls will be allowed to enter the US for a robotics competition, Politico reports, after twice having their visa applications rejected for unknown reasons. White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders tells the Associated Press that President Donald Trump intervened to allow the girls to enter the US.
The decision to deny visas for the team of six teenage girls sparked criticism from human rights groups, which accused US officials of abandoning efforts to support the empowerment of Afghan women, and raised concerns over the White House’s visa policy for Muslim-majority countries.
The decision to issue visas to the Afghan team follows a similar reversal concerning a team from Gambia, which was initially barred from…
