Sarah Seddig

Sarah Seddig is a PhD fellow at the Department of Anthropology, University of Copenhagen, and affiliated with the "Peace and Violence" research unit at the Danish Institute of International Studies (DIIS). Her research focuses on the intersection of womxn's sexual and reproductive health, technological innovation, and female entrepreneurship in emerging markets and developing contexts.

Her educational background includes:

• Master of Science in Anthropology from the University of Copenhagen, with a thesis titled "Period Economies. Menstrual Hygiene Management as Pathway between Voluntary Labour and Entrepreneurship among Youth Leaders in Uganda".
• Bachelor of Arts in Cultural Anthropology / History of Arts from the University of Copenhagen, with a thesis titled "Understanding Intangible Cultural Heritage. An Analysis of the Discourse on the UNESCO Convention in Germany".

Sarah's research interests span Sexual and Reproductive Health, Gender, Sexual and Gender Based Violence, Technology and Innovation, FemTech, International Development, Emerging Markets, Female Entrepreneurship, Empowerment, and Surveillance, with a geographic focus on Sub-Saharan Africa, particularly Uganda and Kenya. She investigates how technological innovations, such as smartphone apps and wearables in the FemTech sector, can empower women in sexual and reproductive health while simultaneously creating data surveillance risks in contexts like Kenya's 'Silicon Savannah'.

Her current PhD project "Bodies of Data. The Power of Female Technology in Sexual and Reproductive Health in Kenya’s ‘Silicon Savannah’" examines how FemTech startups collect sensitive biometric data through diagnostic devices and apps, analyzing the tension between commercial empowerment incentives and privacy vulnerabilities. Funded by the Independent Research Fund Danmark (2020-2023), the project combines ethnographic fieldwork with critical analysis of 'girl-centred' development frameworks.