Nominees for the BRISMES Committee on Academic Freedom (2024-2027)

Reem Awny Abuzaid 

I am a PhD student at the University of Warwick, researching the legal and political engagement of feminist and LGBTQ activist groups in Egypt and Lebanon. My interest in this field stems from my professional experience as the Development Director at the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), where I engaged with a diverse network of actors concerned with political activism within a human rights framework. This background motivates my nomination to the Committee on Academic Freedoms.

I bring the necessary skills to enhance the committee's work during this critical time. As a junior staff member, I have a deep connection to the growing student movement across our campuses. My role is to gear the committee’s effort to further politicise the movement’s demands, establish communication channels with university management, and create a counter-narrative that emphasises the importance of students' critical thinking and political organising in upholding academic freedoms. This is crucial during the current atmosphere of crackdown and threats to students’ encampments in the UK.

BRISMES is an invaluable platform that deeply engages with the Middle East’s epistemic issues and struggles. If elected, I will work to galvanise our association’s capacity to resist the ongoing scholasticide in Gaza. I will complement existing efforts to assert the Palestinians’ right to a future of teaching, studying, and conducting research on their land, despite attempts to erase them.