schools and cities when it comes to access to and preponderance of physical facilities. Media reports show that many schools do not have playrooms,10 and that urban planning often fails to address the issue of child-friendly environments.11 Although Iranian law protects social and cultural rights for adults and children alike, it contains discriminatory provisions between men and women, ultimately resulting in unequal access to recreational activities between boys and girls. Article 3 of the constitution obliges the government to ensure the universal rights of individuals (both men and women), judicial justice for all, and equal protection by law for the public.12 In addition, Article 20 of the Constitution emphasises that all people of the nation, both men and women, are equally protected by law, and enjoy all human, political, economic, social and cultural rights, in accordance with “Islamic standards.”13 Article 21 of the Constitution obliges the government to guarantee the rights of women in all respects, in accordance with “Islamic standards.”14 While these provisions supposedly safeguard the human rights of women and protect them from discrimination, such legal guarantees exist as long as they are in conformity with “Islamic criteria.”. Room for interpretation allowed under qualifications such as “in conformity with Islamic criteria” has often resulted in provisions that discriminate or have a discriminatory impact on various grounds, including gender. Women and girls have limited access to recreational environments in Iran. According to reports, some cities in Iran have begun establishing women-only parks, chief among them the “Mother’s Paradise” park in Tehran.1516 The construction of such parks is based on urban planning implemented by municipalities, who develop and design the parks.17 At least 20 cities in Iran currently have women's parks. While they give women and girls the opportunity to participate in recreational activities, gender-segregation does not imply equality, even in the realm of recreation.18 Women in general do not enjoy the same protections as men in Iranian law. This inequality can also be observed in the realm of sports. Women are, for example, banned from engaging in certain contact sports including wrestling and boxing.19 and in some cases have restricted ability to watch men's sports in person. Inequalities also exist in the areas of budget allocation and access to facilities.20 Though all sport majors in Iran have a federation, women's sports often 10 Hamshahri Newspaper Report focusing on this issue and talking about shortcomings in Iranian. Published through Tabriz city hall website (East Azerbaijan province) 12 Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran 13 Ibid. 14 Ibid. 15 Radio Free Europe 16 Ibid. 17 https://titreshahr.com/fa/news/5407/ 18 https://www.independentpersian.com/node/63061/ 19 Ibid. 20 https://www.isna.ir/news/99052417613/ 11 2

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