qui sommes nous
Acroporas is a sociology and anthropology research and consulting firm specializing in health, social inequalities, and gender studies. We offer research, consulting, and training services. We create 3D educational materials on female genital mutilation and female sexual and reproductive anatomy and health, with a focus on health promotion. Our services and products are aimed at public and private sector stakeholders.
expert.e.s
Saida Barkat Daoud
Sociologist – Director
Researcher in social sciences, PhD from the EHESS (Paris), specializing in the sociology of health and social inequalities, sociology of medicine, sciences and technology and gender studies. She develops an intersectional approach that examines the intersections of sex/gender, sexualities, race/ethnicity, and migration. Her work examines health trajectories, sexuality, and access to care for women affected by gender-based violence, as well as the norms of medical practice and the organization of healthcare systems.
At the core of her research is clitoral reconstructive surgery following female genital cutting. Her analyses are grounded in an epistemological critique of the bodies of knowledge and discourses produced around the social practices of normative alteration of women’s sex—commonly referred to as female genital mutilation/cutting —understood simultaneously as a gender technology, a social technology for regulating women’s sexuality, and a form of gendered constraint and violence. Her current research focuses on the health of women who have undergone excision, their embodied experiences of the blade, and their lived experiences of sexuality. She studies clinical care protocols, the organization of healthcare provision, and the medical pathways of women affected by FGM in France and in the Horn of Africa (Djibouti, Ethiopia), as well as the circulation of surgical techniques across the Sahel. Her analyses connect public policies, medical practices, knowledge production and advocacy, and sexual and reproductive rights, while taking into account social, institutional, and cultural contexts.
Grounded in a research-action and science mediation approach, her work leads to operational applications, notably baadon.com, a digital platform dedicated to accessible scientific knowledge on sexual health and rights for women affected by FGM, as well as for professionals and community stakeholders
Gehad ElGendy
Anthropologist
A social science researcher specializing in gender studies and a teaching fellow, Gehad Elgendy is currently a PhD candidate in social and cultural anthropology at the University of Bordeaux, in collaboration with the CEDEJ in Cairo. Her research focuses on medically performed female genital “alterations” in Egypt, examining the tensions between traditional practices, modern aesthetic norms, and health policies.
At the intersection of medicine, sexuality, and the governance of bodies, she analyzes the sociocultural dynamics of sexual health and the impact of digital spaces on socialization. She has experience in international cooperation, having notably collaborated with the Arab Women Organization and Première Urgence Internationale on issues related to violence prevention and social inclusion