At U.N., emotional appeals for world leaders to protect Afghan girls' education

FILE PHOTO: Somaya Faruqi, activist and former captain of the Afghan Girls Robotics Team, speaks during the Transforming Education Summit on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in Manhattan, New York City, New York, U.S., September 19, 2022. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - After pleading with world leaders at the United Nations to protect the education and rights of women in Afghanistan a year after the Taliban took over, Somaya Faruqi, former captain of the Afghan girls robotics team, broke down in tears backstage.

"I was in classroom last year, but this year girls are not in classroom. Classrooms are empty, and they are at their homes. So it was too hard to control myself, control my feelings," Faruqi, 20, told Reuters.