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With the rapid U.S. pullout from Afghanistan, many are wondering what the future of the country will look like under Taliban rule. Women in particular are facing major setbacks, already being urged to stay in their homes under a narrative of protection. While an all-woman Afghan robotics team known as the Afghan Dreamers is now safe in Mexico, many other women remain and are now at risk.

鈥淭he reason that we left was that we didn鈥檛 want our history to be ended by Taliban,鈥� said Saghar, a member of the robotics team who asked that her last name not be used to avoid endangering her family members who remain in Afghanistan. 鈥淲e wanted to continue the path that we started to continue to go for our achievements and to go for having our dreams through reality. So that鈥檚 why we decided to leave Afghanistan and go for somewhere safe.鈥�

But not all young girls with big dreams have gotten safe passage. Members of the national girls youth soccer team are among those who were left behind. They move from place to place at a moment鈥檚 notice in a desperate bid to evade the Taliban听鈥� girls whose lives are in danger simply because they chose to play a sport they loved.

An international effort to evacuate members of the Afghanistan national girls soccer team, along with dozens of family members and soccer federation staff, suffered a crushing setback last week after a suicide bombing at the Kabul airport killed 169 Afghans and 13 U.S. service members during a harrowing airlift.

Now, frightened and desperate, the girls worry whether a far-flung coalition of former U.S. military and intelligence officials, congressmen, U.S. allies, humanitarian groups, and the captain of the Afghanistan women鈥檚 national team can get them and their loved ones to safety.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e just unbelievable young ladies who should be playing in the backyard, playing on the swing set, playing with their friends, and here they鈥檙e in a very bad situation for doing nothing more than playing soccer,鈥� said Robert McCreary, a former congressional chief of staff and White House official under President George W. Bush who has worked with special forces in Afghanistan. 鈥淲e need to do everything that we can to protect them, to get them to a safe situation.鈥�

The airport suicide bombing was carried out by Islamic State militants who are sworn rivals of the Taliban. The U.S. military has acknowledged that during the airlift, it was coordinating to some extent with the Taliban who set up checkpoints around the airport for crowd control and in the final days facilitated the evacuation of American citizens.

The Taliban have tried to present a new image, promising amnesty to former opponents and saying they would form an inclusive government. Many Afghans don鈥檛 trust those promises, fearing the Taliban will quickly resort to the brutal tactics of their 1996-2001 rule, including barring girls and women from schools and jobs. The Taliban have been vague on their policy toward women so far, but have not yet issued sweeping repressive edicts.听

Most members of the Afghan women鈥檚 team, formed in 2007, were evacuated to Australia last week.

But the girls, ages 14-16, and their families also could be targeted by the Taliban 鈥撎齨ot just because women and girls are forbidden to play sports, but because they were advocates for girls and active members of their communities, said Farkhunda Muhtaj, who is captain of the Afghanistan women鈥檚 national team and lives in Canada.

鈥淭hey are devastated. They鈥檙e hopeless, considering the situation they鈥檙e in,鈥� said Ms. Muhtaj, who keeps in contact with the girls and urges them to stay calm.听

There have been at least five failed attempts to rescue the girls in recent days, as they were moved around for their safety, Mr. McCreary and Ms. Muhtaj said. They were 鈥渇ootsteps from freedom鈥� when the suicide bombing occurred, Ms. Muhtaj said.

Complicating the rescue effort is the size of the group 鈥撎�133 people, including the 26 youth team members as well as adults and other children, including infants. Many don鈥檛 have passports or other necessary documentation to board flights from Kabul.

Mr. McCreary said the mission 鈥撎齝alled Operation Soccer Balls 鈥撎齣s working with other countries, with the hope the girls will eventually settle in the United States. He said Australia, France, and Qatar have expressed interest in helping. He also urged the Taliban to ease the exit for the group, saying it would create goodwill.

鈥淚f we can put a protective bubble around these women and young girls ... I really believe the world will stand up and and take notice and have a lot of offers to take them in and host them,鈥� Mr. McCreary said.

Former U.S. women鈥檚 national soccer team captain Julie Foudy, a two-time World Cup champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist, said the rescue efforts 鈥渞aise the visibility of these young women and their importance to equality and democracy and all these things that we value in this country.鈥�

鈥淎s many of us who can stand up as female athletes 鈥撎齛s humans 鈥撎齛nd say, 鈥楾his is a moment we need to come together and do what鈥檚 right,鈥� then we absolutely should,鈥� she said.

Nic McKinley, a CIA and Air Force veteran who founded Dallas-based DeliverFund, a nonprofit that鈥檚 secured housing for 50 Afghan families, said he understood that the U.S. was focused on relocating Afghans who helped American forces, but that others need help, too.

鈥淲hat about the little girl who just wants to kick a ball around a field and wants to do that well, and has worked hard to do that at a world class level who finds herself suddenly in jeopardy only because she just wanted to play a sport and had a passion for playing that sport?鈥� he said. 鈥淭he only thing that they had done wrong in the eyes of the Taliban ... is the fact that they were born girls and they had the audacity to dream of doing something.鈥�

Mr. McCreary said the rescue team feels personally responsible because the U.S. helped the girls go to school and play soccer.

鈥淲e need to protect them now,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey should not be in harm鈥檚 way for things that we helped them do.鈥�

听This story was reported by The Associated Press.