In pictures: Parkour in Tehran

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  Mahsa Khakbazan, an Iranian woman who practices parkour, hangs from a bar during a parkour training session at a sports hall in northern Tehran. Behrouz Mehri / AFP March 12

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  Mahsa Khakbazan, an Iranian woman who practices parkour, hangs from a bar during a parkour training session at a sports hall in northern Tehran. Behrouz Mehri / AFP March 12

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  Iranian women practice parkour in Tehran’s Tavalod Park. Atta Kenare / AFP March 13

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  Iranian women practice parkour in Tehran’s Tavalod Park. Atta Kenare / AFP March 13

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  Iranian women attend a parkour training session at a sports hall in northern Tehran. Behrouz Mehri / AFP March 12

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  Iranian women Arefeh Shah-Ali (L) and Yasaman Keshavarzi (R) attend a parkour training session at a sports hall in northern Tehran. Behrouz Mehri / AFP March 12

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  Iranian women take a break as they practice parkour in Tehran’s Tavalod Park. Atta Kenare / AFP March 13

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  Iranian women practice parkour in Tehran’s Tavalod Park. A group of Iranian women have discovered parkour, the fast-moving sport blending acrobatics and gymnastics that has become their outlet for evading social constraints and dealing with stress. Atta Kenare / AFP March 13

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  Iranian women practice parkour in Tehran’s Tavalod Park. Atta Kenare / AFP March 13

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  Iranian women practice parkour in Tehran’s Tavalod Park. Atta Kenare / AFP March 13

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  Iranian women practice parkour in Tehran’s Tavalod Park. Atta Kenare / AFP March 13

In a Tehran park, a group of young women brave sneering men and shocked looks as they perform flips, mid-air somersaults and bound from pillar to pillar in a surprising sight in the Islamic republic.

The group has discovered parkour, the fast-moving sport blending acrobatics and gymnastics that has become their outlet for evading Iranian social constraints and dealing with stress.