iranian women’s leisure time dilemmas: from the experts’ perspective

Leisure is an opportunity for self-development, self-definition and community rejuvenation, acquisition of experience and development of social interactions. however, it is relatively free and constrained by factors such as gender, cultural and social policies governing societies. the current study is aimed at examining married women's leisure problems in tehran from the viewpoint of experts. the research method is qualitative while the thematic analysis is used for data analysis and the illustrated problems. 23 semistructured interviews conducted with three groups of experts (policymakers, executives and university professors). two global themes of intragovernmental and extra-governmental problems are taken through the experts on the leisure problems of the target group. marginalization, inequality and discrimination, scattered policy making and implementation, demonstrative policies and apathy are intragovernmental problems whereas restriction, excess and negligence in leisure activities and body as project are forming extra-governmental problems. the results of this study illustrate that leisure problems for married women in tehran have a cultural root and are caused by cultural neglect and misunderstanding. thus, cultural solutions can provide a framework for other solutions to function.