India T ops the List of Countries Most
Dang
er
ous f for
or W omen
Danger
erous
Thomson Reuters Foundation
conducted a survey of about 550
experts on women’s issues. The
survey asked the respondents
which five of the 193 United Nations
member states they thought were
most dangerous for women and
which country was worst in terms
of healthcare, economic resources,
cultural or traditional practices,
sexual violence and harassment,
non-sexual violence and human
trafficking.
The poll of 548 people was
conducted online, by phone and in
person between March 26 and May
4 with an even spread across
Europe, Africa, the Americas,
South East Asia, South Asia and
the Pacific. Respondents included
aid professionals, academics,
healthcare staff, non-government
organisation workers, policy-
makers, development specialists
and social commentators.
Respondents ranked India the
‘most dangerous country’ for
women in terms of high risk of
sexual violence, human trafficking,
including sex slavery and domestic
servitude, and for customary
practices such as forced marriage,
stoning and female infanticide.
The other countries in the top
10 are Afghanistan, USA, Syria,
Somalia, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan,
Congo, Yemen, Nigeria and Egypt.
The poll was a repeat of a
survey in 2011 that found experts
seeing Afghanistan, Democratic
Republic of Congo, Pakistan, India
and Somalia as the most dangerous
countries for women.
Afghanistan fared worst in four
of the seven questions, with
concerns over healthcare and
conflict-related violence. Afghan
Women and girls faced severe
gender-based violence, abuse,
August - 2018
illiteracy, poverty and other human
rights offences.
The impact of a seven-year war
drove Syria into third place in the
survey, amid concerns over
access to healthcare and both
sexual and non-sexual violence.
Somalia, where more than two
decades of war has fuelled a
culture of violence and weakened
institutions meant to uphold the law,
was again named as one of the five
most dangerous countries for
women.
India, Libya and Myanmar were
considered the world’s most
dangerous nations for women
exploited by human traffickers in a
global crime worth an estimated
$150 billion a year.
Saudi Arabia ranked fifth. One
of the worst laws that prevent
women from having equal
opportunities is guardianship—
because every woman is subjected
to a male guardian. She