FEMINISM THROUGH THE EYES OF IRANIANS AND UKRAINIANS

Abstract

The article focuses on the history of feminism, its formation and development in the West, and its philosophy in the global context. It also analyzes features of feminism expansion to the East and peculiarities of interpretation of this phenomenon in Ukraine and Iran. Since its appearance, the feminist movement almost immediately became widespread in Western countries and was expressed in both moderate and radical forms. Because of the natural evolution, feminism has passed several stages of development, and spread to the East. Ukrainian intellectual tradition assimilated Western European feminism, perceiving it not only as the idea of fighting for equality of sexes, but also as social and cultural mechanisms that contribute to the humanization of society in general. This movement gradually grew into a powerful factor for the development of the country that provided a significant influence on the major cultural and political processes. In Iran feminism challenged the unique national views, traditional lifestyle, and stronger coherence of the social system and religion. The activity of Iranian feminists has not led to radical changes in society, the concept of feminism has undergone structural and ideological transformation and has adapted to the existing realities and mentality. The concept of feminism was artistically expressed in the literature of the countries, and gave rise to the different scientific views on “women’s writing” – the so-called feminist literary criticism.