Abstract
In the feature films Persepolis and Rana's Wedding, we are told the stories of women who in the course of their lifetime have defied male patriarchy, and are therefore labeled as feminists. However, these and many others are exclusively individual examples, and it seems that there is no feminist movement per se in the Middle East, as stated by Nadia Hijab. Even though it is undeniable that there is no such a thing in the Arab world as a feminist movement strictly similar to feminist movements in Western countries, there are numerous varied women's movements that struggle to empower women or at least demand an acknowledgement of women's rights.
It seems unfair to deny these movements the label of feminism based solely on the grounds that they are not independent of the political and economic context in which they emerge. The Iranian and Palestinian examples prove that feminism exists in the Middle East, but most of all demonstrate the complex interactions between gender issues and the powers in place.
