The purpose of the article is to explore the gender aspect of the modernization of Tunisian society from modernism to postmodernism, which defined the cultural concept of the twentieth century. The article conducts a comprehensive study of gender aspects of the modernization of Tunisian society since the beginning of this modernization in 1900 of the XX century. to the beginning of the XXI century; for the first time the periodization of the women's movement in Tunisia in the period of modern history is presented and substantiated; analyzed the history of the impact of political and legal reforms of the Tunisian government on changing the gender situation in society; reflects the specifics of gender ideas and practices of Tunisian society in historical retrospect. The degree of influence of the French colonial regime on the modernization of Tunisian society in a gender context is determined; an analysis of the specifics of gender relations in Islamic society. It is proved that Islamic democracy was presented as a guarantor of the real emancipation of women, provided that she retains the primary status of wife and mother. This principle, due to the socio-cultural traditions of Tunisian society, was in fact basic in gender perceptions and for this period. Biographies of the leaders of the Tunisian movement show that their social self-realization was usually directly ensured by the status of the wife of a politician.

The article presents the historical origins and critical analysis of the activities of the United Nations in addressing the issue of gender equality, identifies the stages of this activity. This analysis is carried out on the basis of the reflection of those historical realities that led to the evolution and real changes in UN policy on gender issues. The reasons for the difficulties in realizing the equality of men and women, formally declared by the UN, are reflected during the two decades of the organization's activity. The author focuses on the significance of the feminist movement of the third wave, which not only allowed the adoption of qualitatively new documents concerning the problem of women's emancipation, but also influenced changes in the structure of the UN, and also contributed to the formation of the corresponding new substructures of this international organization and ensured a certain degree of effectiveness of their actions. The author comes to the conclusion that the historical dynamics in the context of which the UN activities developed led to the transformation of this organization into a truly international one, covering global gender problems, which opens up prospects for their solution at a qualitatively new level.

In the article, in the context of the recognition of socio-cultural determinants of gender history and critical analysis of foreign studies by the author, an attempt was made to generalize the evolution of the position of women in Tunisia in the 20th and early 21st centuries. It is the Tunisian version of solving the problem of women’s emancipation that most modern researchers consider as the most successful example for the Islamic world. The views of well-known feminists and representatives of the Islamic world regarding actualization of the problem are presented. The influence of the French authorities on the manifestations of the ideas of Western feminism, as well as the influence of Islamic reformists on the problems of women’s education and women’s participation in social and political life, is shown. In the course of the research, the author substantiates the following conclusions, namely: during the century, the social evolution of Tunisian society was determined by the process of adaptation and change of traditional socio-cultural foundations to new historical conditions. The established secular regime, after the proclamation of the Republic, for a decade was under pressure from the Islamic opposition, which initially existed in a cultural and educational form, and in the last decade of the 20th century took shape as a political one. The history of the last decade of the Republic shows that socio-cultural traditions have become the most important mechanism for the formation of intellectual and political values that contribute to national unity. This process determined both the nature and the stages of the women’s movement, which was formed during the period of the national liberation struggle, being its component. After the declaration of independence, Tunisian women de jure received political and social rights. There was a process of organizational design of the women’s movement, but this movement experienced decades of paternalistic control during the rule of Habib Bourguiba. A qualitatively new stage is associated with the presidency of Ben Ali and his politics: from “managed democracy” to a totalitarian regime, which led to the formation of a female political opposition. As mentioned above, the events of the 2010s opened perspectives in the issues of overcoming gender asymmetry.

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