Zeina Dowidar

College: St Antony’s College

Department: School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography

Thesis title: ‘Sexual Morality and Assault Disclosure in Egypt’

Supervisors: Professor Walter Armbrust and Professor Zuzanna Olszewska

Biography: Zeina Dowidar is a cultural programmer and award-winning audio producer. She is the co-founder of Hekayyatna, a community-driven production house. She combines academic rigour with creative practice and community organising to understand how stories create change.

Her academic background includes a BA in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at King’s College London, and an MPhil in Development Studies at the University of Cambridge.

Research Interests: Zeina’s research investigates how sexual morality is learned and negotiated in contemporary Egypt, focusing on how these moral frameworks shape women’s choices around disclosing or concealing their experiences of sexual assault. She examines how sociocultural notions of honour and shame are taught to young women, both at home and in wider society, and how these lessons shape their embodied decisions and practices of disclosure. The research design systematically examines the various sites where sexual morality is taught, interpreted, or enacted to pinpoint how these contribute to women’s decision-making processes around disclosure.

Grounded in praxis, her research actively blends theory and action to promote social change. Central to this work is a survivor-centred workshop series that explores how women understand and navigate their assault disclosure decisions, fostering shared reflection about consent, morality, disclosure, silence, and social reaction. Zeina will also collaborate with frontline organisations addressing sexual violence in Egypt.

Selected publications: 

Dowidar, Z. and Shaker, N. (2025) ‘Egypt’s #MeToo: Sexual Morality, Class, and Gender Politics Across Two Critical Cases’, in #MeToo and the Politics of Transnational Feminism: An Anthology. New York: NYU Press, pp. 66–84.