When the U.S. and NATO forces pulled out of Afghanistan in 2021, one of the things the Taliban did was to ban education for girls beyond sixth grade, the only country in the world having such restrictions on girl’s education.
Rule Breakers, the new film by director Bill Guttentag through Angel Studios, tells the true story of Roya Mahboob (Nikohl Boosheri), the visionary woman who began the Afghan Dreamers, an all-girls robotics team who made headlines in 2017 on the international stage for their innovative work.
Even in school Roya wanted to learn computers but those were only for the boys. Never giving up on her dream, as an adult, she made a deal with a local coffee shop owner, Abdul (Nasser Memarzia), that he would let her come in an hour before he opened so she could learn the computer he had for his male customers. In return, she would teach him how to use it so he could help the men of the town.
Inspired by advice from an Indian-American businessman, Samir (Ali Fazal), Roya, began the first female-owned software company in Afghanistan. She started computer classes for girls, but Roya wasn’t satisfied with the positive, but small, impact she was having. She confided to Samir, “Only by winning something big will people know what we’re doing.” So she, together with her brother, Ali (Noorin Gulamgaus), started the all-girls robotics team. Samir provided financial backing.
The team faced challenges at every turn. Customs held their robot parts so they only had two weeks to work on it compared to months for other teams. Denied travel visas, Roya appealed to the American press. Finally able to go, their flight didn’t have enough seats for the whole team. A heartfelt plea from Ali to people waiting in line, gave them the seats they needed.
Rule Breakers is not just an underdog story, it’s about the human need to triumph over oppression, to be courageous in the face of discrimination, and to stand up for the truth that knowledge can give power to the powerless.
After a bombing in the girls’ hometown and the Taliban threatening their families, Roya and the girls are on the verge of giving up when one of them says, “My uncle and my brother fight in the army. This [the robotics team] is how we fight.”
Knowledge is power, or so the cliché goes. Rule Breakers and the story it tells testifies to this truth. May the Afghan Dreamers be an inspiration to all who seek to better our world by learning and putting their knowledge at the service of humankind.
Rule Breakers is in theaters beginning March 7, 2025.
