After the fall of Afghanistan into the hands of the Taliban, there are grave concerns about women’s freedom, their rights to work and live a dignified life among fears of human rights violations. Among more than 19 lakh Afghan women trapped in the war-torn country to live under the Taliban’s rule, 10 girls from Afghan Robotics Team were rescued out of the country after a US woman took the initiative. 60-year-old Allyson Reneau, who is an international motivational speaker and Harvard graduate, contacted her former roommate who worked in the US Embassy in Qatar and started the necessary paperwork. The parent organisation of the team, the Digital Citizen Fund thanked the government of Qatar for “their outstanding support, which included not only expediting the visa process but sending a plane after outbound flights from Afghanistan were repeatedly cancelled," as quoted by NBC News.
Reneau, who started the chain of events leading to the safe escape of the girls, had first met the girls when they attended the 2019 Humans to Mars conference in Washington D.C. The program was organised by Explore Mars, an organisation where Reneau works as a member of the board of directors. A resident of Oklahoma, Reneu is a biological mother of 11 children.
According to a board member of DCF, Elizabeth Schaeffer Brown told NBC, “ultimately the girls 'rescued' themselves.” According to her, it is the girls’ hard work and courage that they pursued an education and came in contact with the world, leading to this day when they could successfully escape. Amid the various reports of Afghan women afraid for their future, this rescue operation offers relief to the rescued members. However, several other members of the team are still in Afghanistan while their rescue is being arranged, DCF said in the statement.
According to the Guardian, more than 12,000 people have been rescued from the Kabul airport since Sunday, August 15, when the Taliban took over the city.
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