International Legal Instruments for Protecting Women's Rights in Sport: Normative Frameworks, Implementation Gaps, and Policy Implications

Women’s participation in sport has expanded significantly over the last century; however, structural inequalities and systemic discrimination continue to undermine the realization of gender equality in the global sporting landscape. International legal and policy instruments have played a central role in articulating standards for the protection and promotion of women’s rights in sport. This article critically examines the major international frameworks that advance gender equality in sport, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the Beijing Platform for Action, the UNESCO International Charter of Physical Education, Physical Activity and Sport, the Olympic Charter, the Brighton Plus Helsinki Declaration on Women and Sport, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Maputo Protocol, and selected regulatory instruments in international sport governance, such as FIFA regulations. Using doctrinal legal analysis and policy evaluation, this study analyzes the extent to which these instruments protect women’s rights in sport and identifies key structural limitations affecting their implementation. Despite significant normative progress, persistent challenges, such as unequal pay, media marginalization, harassment and abuse, and under‑representation in leadership positions, continue to affect female athletes and administrators globally. The study finds that the principal weaknesses of international instruments lie in limited enforcement mechanisms, weak monitoring structures, states’ sovereignty concerns, and resource constraints affecting implementation. The article concludes that while international instruments provide an important normative framework for gender equality in sport, stronger accountability mechanisms, institutional reforms in sports governance, and domestication of international standards into national legislation are required to ensure effective protection of women’s rights in sport. Policy recommendations include the creation of specialized monitoring bodies, mandatory gender equality compliance mechanisms within international sports federations, and improved funding structures for women’s sport