Written By Bryné Hadnott
This past year has been...a lot of different things: exhausting, emotionally draining, terrifying, overwhelming and packed with more events than a person should have to experience in 365 days. Still, there were moments when the actions of one individual shined so bright that they cut through the gray, dense fog that was 2021.
Amena Karimyan—civil engineer, astronomer, and founder of Kayhana Astronomical Group—is one such individual. Last summer, her all-girls astronomy education nonprofit won an award from the International Astronomy and Astrophysics competition and received twelve Bresser Messier AR90/900 telescopes from the International Astronomical Union's Telescopes for All project.
Her brilliance and activism were noticed by the Austrian Academy of Sciences and Karimyan was offered an invitation to conduct research in Vienna for three months. On August 24th, just one week after the Taliban wrested control of the seat of government in Kabul, she attempted to escape to Pakistan by land, but was turned away at the border. She tried again on September 10th, and after showing her invitation from Austria, was permitted to cross the border into Pakistan. A week later, Karimyan was invited to the Austrian embassy in Islamabad where she hoped to finalize her visa and begin the journey to Vienna. After two more appointments and intense questioning, her visa was abruptly rejected without explanation.
With nowhere else to go, Karimyan was forced to remain in temporary guest housing in Pakistan, supported by private individuals, donations from Austrian non-profits, and vocal support from The Graz journalist, Evelyn Schalk. Austrian playwright and Nobel Prize winner, Elfriede Jelinek, wrote in a solidarity statement, “the worst thing I can imagine is holding out my hand to someone who is drowning and then pulling it away at the last moment. The Austrian Foreign Ministry did that with Amena Karimyan.”
Over 7500 people have signed a petition calling on the Austrian Foreign Ministry to reinstate Karimyan's visa, but her status remains unclear. As a woman, a scientist, and an activist for girls' science education, she cannot safely return to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. If you're interested in helping Amena Karimyan find a safe haven where she can continue her incredible work, please reach out to @AmenaKarimyan or @evelyn_schalk on Twitter.
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