Doctor of Historical Sciences Institute of Africa, Russian Academy of Sciences

Keywords: oriental studies, African studies, gender studies, feminization of migration processes, social emancipation, adaptation, mixed marriages

In recent decades, there has been a noticeable increase in academic interest in gender issues with its essentially eternal question: what element does a woman contribute to society? It is an issue related both to the contemporary debate on women's rights, which is closely linked to the entire spectrum of social problems, agreements and confrontations of our era, and to the definition of the place and influence of women in regional and world history. Both sides of this question are so significant that without solving them for themselves-even hypothetically - a serious researcher cannot hope for a realistic reconstruction of the world picture.

The need for a comprehensive inter-regional study of this issue in the vast expanses of the Afro-Asian region of the planet marked a new round of creative cooperation between such Russian academic institutions of science as the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Africa of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Gender issues as an independent scientific field in Russian African studies have existed for a quarter of a century. The specialists of the Institute of Africa of the Russian Academy of Sciences who collaborate in the Group of Gender Studies with their research (over the years of the group's existence, more than 100 works have been published - scientific monographs, collections of articles, reports, publications in scientific and popular scientific periodicals, etc.) have once again proved that we are witnessing a new direction in the humanities: gender-oriented African studies - a complex scientific direction that absorbs the experience of many scientific disciplines.

Orientalist researchers, as shown by joint scientific events held in the last two years, are no less interested in the comprehensive development of this group of problems, because the degree of social maturity achieved by Eastern society is determined, including by the place that a woman occupies in it. It is enough to recall that during this period, three major scientific events were held jointly, directly related to gender issues in all its research diversity and thematic diversity.

GENDER-SENSITIVE SOCIAL AND POLITICAL LIFE IN AFRICA

The round table at the Institute of Africa of the Russian Academy of Sciences "Public and Political life in Africa in the gender dimension", organized by the Gender Studies Group in April 2013, essentially opened up an opportunity for an active Oriental-African dialogue on vast areas of gender issues. It was devoted to a multi-pronged analysis of the place of women in social and political processes taking place in the countries of the African and Asian regions. "Gender, power and politics", " Traditions and innovations. Lifestyle, aesthetic and social stereotypes", "Socio-political life of African countries through the prism of gender relations", "Portraits of public figures", "Reflection of socio-political life in literature" - this is an incomplete list of topics

reports and presentations at the round table meeting. At the same time, the goal and meaning of the gender approach to these problems, as defined by the leaders of this forum - Doctor of Historical Sciences N. L. Krylova and Candidate of Historical Sciences N. A. Ksenofontova, is to present a polyphonic and stereoscopic picture of the history and culture of these regions of the planet.

Many presentations focused on various aspects of the gender situation and its impact on the development of Afro-Asian countries in the context of global planetary changes. The speakers discussed in detail the concepts of "gender equality" and" gender inequality " in their historical, cultural, socio-economic, political and religious contexts, compared the features and causes of gender inequality in different countries, and considered the costs of discrimination against women in fundamental rights, access to education, resources and economic opportunities, and participation in public life. life and expression of political interests.

It is known that in those eastern and African States where increasing gender inequality is an element of justification for any domination, the processes of social emancipation inevitably slow down. In another group of countries, on the contrary, the policy of governments and ruling parties focuses on achieving gender balance and equal involvement of representatives of both sexes in the construction of a progressive and democratic state system and in the formation of civil society. At the core of such policies is the question of how to arouse women's civic and political activism, how to attract them to participate in the affairs of society, and what efforts should be made on the part of the State to overcome the obstacles that stand in this way.

The forum participants emphasized that the level of social activity of women in any society - Eastern, Western, or African-is directly regulated by the state of socio-economic problems of society, the living conditions of the woman and her family, the fear of losing her job or the location of the family, the growth of social tension in society, and finally, the natural aspirations of mothers to protect the This brings women together and unites them, and leads to the need to participate in the activities of various social movements, mass associations of social protest, especially during transitional periods of social development.

At the same time, the manifestation of social activity of women trying to build their associations in Africa and Asia is affected by a number of specific factors that create an additional social and psychological burden. Among them, one of the first places is occupied by a group of circumstances - "local" (related to the peculiarities of the historical and cultural tradition of the country) and "individual" (the position of a woman within the family; behavioral features that depend on the temperament and character of a particular woman; taking into account the professional interests and personal inclinations of her husband, etc.). they ultimately determine a woman's decision to participate in public life or not.

Some of the speakers expressed informal interest in addressing the problems associated with the presence of Russians in the Near and Middle East, as well as in Africa, and the gender aspects of their existence. Among other things, the speakers noted that women compatriots, wives of citizens of Asian and African countries, cannot fail to realize that with a certain deterioration in the overall socio-political situation, an increase in social competition, such a community can become an outlet for the discontent of the local population, which can manifest itself (and manifests itself) in any form. They also discussed the need to raise the issue of adaptation and integration processes among our compatriots and their children who are permanently residing in Africa, the Middle East, and Russia to the level of both academic and state interests. After all, trying to enter the planetary common cultural space, it is necessary to realize that the process of such adaptation is mutual, and we all have to learn social tolerance and tolerance.

"FEMINIZATION" OF MIGRATION PROCESSES

The round table at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, held jointly by the Center for Research on General Problems of the Modern East of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Gender Research Group of the Institute of Africa of the Russian Academy of Sciences in the fall of the same year, was devoted to the problems of feminization of modern migration processes, because globalization on its current scale, as noted by the organizers - the head of the Research Center-opening the meeting of this scientific forum S. V. Panarin, PhD in History, and N. L. Krylova, PhD in History, Head of the Gender Research Group at the Institute of African Studies, changed not only the quantitative but also the qualitative parameters of international migration, introducing the concept of "feminization" of migration processes along with the thesis about high mobility of men.

The round table brought together a number of specialists whose interests are directly or indirectly related to the study of modern migration processes, including in their gender refraction. The scientific and practical discussion of colleagues of Orientalists and Africanists dealing with this issue continued. On-

how relevant this topic is, says world statistics: in 2013, the number of international migrants in Europe and Asia was almost equal: 72 and 71 million, respectively. At the same time, international migration from the East moves both to Russia and to the West, and in two directions of the East itself. And everywhere - their own peculiarities of adaptation of migrants, their interaction with the host population. At the same time, international migration is characterized everywhere by processes that do not depend on external circumstances. One of them is the identity crisis. One way or another, it is felt by all migrants and manifests itself, including at the level of gender roles. Speakers emphasized that the global socio-cultural borderline inevitably generates contradictions: universalization in all spheres, on the one hand, and the growth of diversity, the desire to identify with original cultures, on the other. Gender aspects of national, social and cultural self-identification, problems of identity acquisition in the movement of emigration and migration flows were analyzed separately.

It is also extremely important to know, the speakers and panelists noted, what methods and techniques can be used to achieve the most effective research of these problems. This is primarily due to the methodology used by Orientalists and Africanists in their research, as well as the variety of research techniques and the specifics of the genres in which our colleagues work. These include surveys and qualitative problem-based interviewing (E. B. Demintseva), the use of biographies and oral histories of respondents (N. L. Krylov); the study of archival materials and statistics and the analysis of state documents (V. V. Belyakov, N. A. Zherlitsyn), materials of artistic testimonies, which, according to the professor, the Doctor of Philology of the Russian Academy of Sciences. S. V. Prozhogina (Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences), become an organic addition to documentary evidence on such issues as immigration in its gender refraction, etc.

A large group of reports (O. S. Kulkova, N. V. Grishina, I. G. Rybalkina, etc.) was devoted to the problems of the family in the conditions of modern development, since today the existence of many traditional forms of socio-cultural life of the population of the East, the countries of the African continent, and its various regions is called into question. The inner appearance of a person becomes more complicated, the family is changing, and its forms are becoming more diverse. Objectively, all these are social syndromes, the presence of which can no longer be overlooked, a kind of "by-product" of globalization, since the explosive expansion of migration and the new patterns of living generated by it, including at the family level, are one of the features of the process of globalization development not only in Africa and the East, but also around the world.

Globalization processes also affected the categories of mixed marriages, which was discussed by O. P. Bibikova, I. V. Masyukova, N. L. Krylova, N. V. Sukhov. Their reports were more or less devoted to the consideration of the "amplitude" of modern planetary emigration / migration "swings" in their gender manifestation: women traveling from East to West and from West to East (from Russia to Africa, countries of the Near and Middle East), determining possible aspects of their research within the boundaries of the dichotomy "traditional - modern" , etc. These interethnic, biracial unions are often formed in places where migrants settle down, but more often they are social "interspersed" in mono-ethnic areas. In any case, such family formations naturally participate in the processes of rapprochement of peoples, erase artificially drawn political and geographical borders between countries.

Finally, the development of migration trends in Russia and the former Soviet states, as noted in the speeches of fellow Orientalists, as well as invited experts from other academic institutions and universities of Russia (prof. S. V. Polenina, Institute of State and Law of the Russian Academy of Sciences; M. G. Kotovskaya, Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology of the Russian Academy of Sciences; prof. T. M. Gavristova Yaroslavl State University, etc.), largely repeats the stages that were passed by other countries, including the feminization of world migration movements. A diverse study of issues related in one way or another to the gender cross-section of modern migration processes is designed to contribute to a clearer perception of socio-cultural realities on the West-East trajectory, help model a number of social processes, as well as possible scenarios for the development of similar, actively growing migration and immigration trends in Europe, Asia and Africa, and in Russia.

SOCIETY AND POLITICS IN AFRICA: GENDER PERSPECTIVE

In May 2014, the Institute of Africa of the Russian Academy of Sciences hosted the XIII Conference of Africanists "Society and Politics in Africa: Unchanging, changing, new", where one of the most numerically representative and popular sections was the section on gender studies (headed by Doctor of Historical Sciences N. L. Krylova and Candidate of Historical Sciences N. A. Ksenofontova).

The section analyzed various aspects of the gender situation and its impact on the socio-political development of African countries: gender status as a model of socio-cultural and political regulation of society; "women's" and "men's" interests in the context of socio-political and economic changes; women in war and peace: women's peacemaking role and growth social and political activism; emigration to Europe as a factor in the destruction of the traditional family: gender aspects of poverty; the Muslim world and the women's movement; political representation of women in Islamic society. The scientific discussion was continued on the following topics: "Gender aspects of national and socio-cultural self-preservation in the era of migration processes" and " Mixed family. Ways of integration and forms of discrimination in the host society. Compatriots in Africa, their role in the social and cultural life of the continent".

Addressing the problems of our compatriots "settling" in the studied regions and the peculiarities of the" Afro-Asian life " of our contemporaries - women who married citizens of these countries and now live permanently in almost all the countries of the studied regions-has become a tradition in the work of Africanists and orientalists. The scenario didn't change this time either.

Recently, the influx of Russian-speaking women to the countries of the Eastern and Western world has significantly increased. Opportunities to find a partner from another country have increased significantly, which has led to an increase in the number of "mixed" marriages, where a woman is a native speaker of the Russian language and culture. At the same time, a woman who has moved to her husband's country faces a number of problems caused by a weak initial knowledge of information about her husband's culture, features of historical, cultural, ethno-linguistic, confessional and other traditions of her new place of residence. Often, a woman who does not have such information about her rights and opportunities, who does not know where to turn, remains socially unprotected.

The last forum provided a unique opportunity to address directly the eyewitnesses of the events taking place today in the countries of North Africa-Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, who survived the "Arab Spring", in Cote d'Ivoire, where a real civil war was going on not so long ago, as well as in Israel, where the first hostages of the Arab-Israeli conflict are becoming women and children, including our compatriots and their children.

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The work of these forums of Russian Africanists and Orientalists has clearly shown that ignoring gender inconsistencies leads to serious costs for African and Asian countries, harming both the well-being of people and the ability of countries to strive for poverty reduction, sustainable growth, and effective governance. A woman in any society has always been and remains a stabilizing force, her energy is almost always focused on creation, not on destruction. The female position is always socially stable, characterized by social calm and balance, i.e. those states that, ultimately, the human community needs.

In the near future, the publication of a collection of scientific reports by Africanists and Orientalists, which is being prepared based on the materials of three forums by the Gender Group of the Institute of Africa of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

According to the participants of all three meetings, such attention to the Afro-Asian "gender segment" in all the variety of issues raised and promising for study is no longer just a tribute to academic fashion. The research conducted during this period, together with a significant body of empirical observations, consistently moves interdisciplinary gender studies from the academic periphery to the epicenter of research interests in modern humanities and its important branches - Oriental studies and African studies.

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