Zeinab Ansari

Founder of Afghanistan's underground girls robotics team

In 2017, Zeinab Ansari secretly trained six Afghan girls aged 12-16 to compete in Washington D.C.'s FIRST Global Challenge robotics competition under Taliban threats. Their ball-sorting robot made from spare parts won a Silver Medal for 'Courageous Achievement'.

When the Taliban retook Afghanistan in 2021, Ansari helped evacuate 70+ team members through Qatar, later establishing Digital Citizen Fund to provide STEM education. Her efforts inspired the 2021 documentary 'Afghan Dreamers'.

Current initiatives include:

• Mobile tech labs reaching rural girls
• 3D-printed prosthetic limb projects
• AI-based agricultural sensors