Today, we welcome guest blogger Dr. Encieh Erfani, who is currently a researcher at the University of Mainz, Germany, and who writes passionately about science communication, as well as the struggles of women and displaced scholars in academia.
Invisible Journeys: The Struggles and Strengths of Displaced Women Scholars
By Encieh Erfani, Ph.D.
When I first heard the term “displaced scholar”, it sounded abstract, as if it belonged in a policy document rather than in someone’s life story. Yet for thousands of academics around the world, including myself, displacement is not abstract at all. It is a lived reality that reshapes careers, families, and identities. For women in particular, displacement magnifies pre-existing inequalities, creating a double burden: surviving exile while navigating the gendered challenges of academic life.
Today, as conflicts, authoritarianism, and crises push more scholars into exile, it is time to reflect on who these displaced women scholars are, what obstacles they face, and how the scientific community can respond.
Who Are Displaced Women Scholars?
There is no single, universally agreed-upon definition of displaced or at-risk scholars. Broadly, they are academics who are forced to leave their home institutions and, often, their home countries because of political repression, conflict, discrimination, or threats to their safety.
While all displaced scholars experience professional and personal upheaval, women often face unique challenges. Many juggle responsibilities as caregivers while trying to rebuild their academic careers in new and uncertain environments. Others encounter cultural or institutional barriers that make it harder to re-enter academia abroad. And because women are already underrepresented in many STEM fields, their forced displacement silences voices that are already too few.
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| Photo Courtesy of Encieh Erfani, Ph.D. |
The barriers facing displaced women scholars are complex and interconnected. Four of the most pressing are:
1. Interrupted Careers
Academic careers depend on continuity — building long-term projects, supervising students, publishing steadily, and securing grants. Displacement severs that chain. Labs are left behind, collaborations are cut short, and years of research may be lost overnight. For women, who already face systemic barriers to advancement, these interruptions can be devastating.
2. Visa and Immigration Uncertainty
A displaced scholar’s ability to continue her work often depends on navigating complex, lengthy, and stressful visa and immigration processes. For women who may also be responsible for children or other dependents, this uncertainty adds another layer of difficulty.
3. Isolation
Moving into a new academic environment without networks is isolating. Women scholars may find it even harder to access male-dominated networks of influence in science, making integration and recognition more challenging.
4. Gendered Barriers Amplified
Exile compounds gender inequities. Women displaced from countries with restrictive gender norms often face stereotypes in host institutions as well. At the same time, they may lack childcare support, mentoring, or policies tailored to their circumstances.
Behind each of these categories are human stories: an Afghan astrophysicist banned from teaching because of her gender; an Iranian scientist forced into exile for her activism; Ukrainian researchers trying to balance caring for their children while keeping their research alive abroad.
Why It Matters for Astronomy and STEM
Why should the scientific community, and especially astronomers, care? Because displacement is not only a humanitarian issue, but also a scientific one.
Every displaced woman scholar represents years of training, expertise, and creativity that science risks losing. Astronomy, like all sciences, thrives on diversity of thought and global collaboration. Yet when women are forced into silence or leave academia because of exile, our field becomes narrower, poorer, and less representative of humanity.
Astronomy in particular offers a symbolic reminder: while we study distant galaxies and exoplanets, we cannot ignore the struggles of those whose scientific journeys on Earth are disrupted. Science is a universal human pursuit, but access to it is not yet universal.
Pathways Forward
There are already organizations working to support displaced scholars. The Scholars at Risk (SAR) network and the Institute of International Education’s Scholar Rescue Fund (IIE-SRF) have provided placements, fellowships, and funding to thousands of at-risk academics worldwide. SAR arranged at least 164 positions in the 2023–24 period [1]. The IIIE-SRF reports that it supported 234 scholars in 2024 (and documents its cumulative totals since 2002 of over 1,100 fellows) [2].
For women, targeted support is critical. This includes:
- Institutional commitments: Universities can develop fellowships specifically designed for displaced women scientists.
- Mentorship and networks: Connecting displaced women to mentors and peers can reduce isolation.
- Practical support: Childcare, relocation assistance, and mental health resources are often as important as research funding.
- Recognition: Host institutions and professional societies should actively highlight and celebrate the contributions of displaced women scientists.
Astronomy departments and associations, including the International Astronomical Union (IAU), the American Astronomical Society (AAS) community, can play a role by opening opportunities, finding host institutes, inviting displaced women to conferences, and advocating for inclusive funding policies.
Photo Courtesy of Encieh Erfani, Ph.D.
Conclusion
The journeys of displaced women scholars are often invisible. Yet they are journeys of resilience as well as struggle. Supporting these women is not only a moral imperative; it is also essential for the vitality of science itself.
If we allow displacement to silence women scholars, we risk losing knowledge, perspectives, and discoveries that could shape the future of astronomy and beyond. If we act to support them, we affirm that science is truly a global and inclusive endeavor.
The sky reminds us daily that boundaries are human-made. Science, too, should transcend borders, ensuring that no voice, especially that of a displaced woman, is left unheard.
References
- Scholars-at-Risk-Annual-Report-2024, https://www.scholarsatrisk.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Scholars-at-Risk-Annual-Report-2024-1.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com
- https://www.scholarrescuefund.org/about-us/by-the-numbers/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
About our Guest Blogger:
Encieh Erfani is originally from Tabriz, Iran. She earned her Bachelor's degree in Physics from Tabriz University, followed by a Master's degree in Physics with a focus on Gravitation from Azarbaijan Shahid Madani University.
In 2007 she was awarded a Postgraduate Diploma Scholarship in High Energy Physics from the International Centre of Theoretical Physics (ICTP) in Trieste, Italy. She completed her dissertation, "The Standard Model Higgs Boson as the Inflaton?" under the guidance of Paolo Creminelli in August 2008.
Erfani pursued a PhD in the Physics Department of Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn in Germany, where she successfully defended her thesis, "Inflation and Dark Matter Primordial Black Holes" under the supervision of Manuel Drees in August 2012.
After completing her PhD, she moved back to Iran and worked as a Post-Doctoral fellow at the School of Physics in the Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences (IPM) in Tehran, and a visiting researcher at ICTP-SAIFR in Brazil.
She returned to Iran in 2015 and joined the Physics Department at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Basic Science (IASBS) as an Assistant Professor. However, Erfani resigned on 23 September 2022 in support of the "Woman, Life, Freedom" protests, which led to her exile. Currently, she is a researcher at Mainz University in Germany.
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