The Afghan girls robotics team were warmly greeted in Amsterdam in the Netherlands last week, where they made an inspirational speech on female empowerment.

The two-day event was attended by researchers, scientists and inventors from 100 countries, where the teams displayed their robots.

Fatima Qaderyan, member of the robotics team, made an emotional speech, thanking her father for supporting her in the pursuit of her dreams.

Qaderyan's father, who was captain of the team, was killed in early August, after the Islamic State group attacked a mosque in Afghanistan's western Herat province, killing and injuring dozens of worshippers.

“We participated at the competition (in the United States) and returned home with a medal. This changed the view of the (Afghan) leaders and the people about women. It helped to reduce some restrictions for women in many families,” she said.

Very #inspirational word from the #Afghan #robotics girl team - may it empower all #women in the world @WorldSummitAI #wsai17 pic.twitter.com/uLLRXpta4B

— Bas Overtoom (@basovertoom) October 12, 2017

The five girls made headlines earlier this year after initially being denied US visas to participate in a robotics competition in Washington DC.

The US embassy later reversed its decision, and the girls were hailed as national heroes after winning silver medals for “courageous achievement”.