Women's Leisure and Constraints to Participation: Iranian Perspectives

Abstract

Literature about women's leisure exists with growing information about a range of women (e.g., women of color, older women, and women with disabilities). Little is known, however, about the leisure of women in middle Eastern cultures. The purpose of this exploratory study is to describe the leisure of Iranian women. A sample of 555 women of young middle age (25–40 years) provided information about their participation in leisure activities and constraints to their involvement in leisure. Iranian women had the greatest constraints related to the lack of structure for opportunities within their communities. Specific cultural constraints based on traditional views and the social significance of leisure were important but other typical economic, social, and personal home expectations were rated as more constraining to the Iranian women's leisure.

KEYWORDS:

• Culture
• religion
• individualism
• collectivism