Not India: These Are The Best Countries To Live In If You're A Woman

Despite the rapid advancements in women's rights around the globe - education, income, political participation and better laws still continue to be the underpinning problems for women.

It is very disheartening to see that India occupies 8th position in the list of top 10 worst countries for the women to live in.

photo courtesy: Boomlive

• Among all HIV positive infections, adult females account for 39% in India.

• Around 70% of the women are victims of domestic violence at least once in their lifetime.

• National crime records Bureau reveal that a crime is committed against women every 3 minutes, rape every 9 minutes and dowry death at every 77 minutes, cruelty committed by either the husband or a relative in every 9 minutes.

• Female infanticide is the most prevalent issue in India in the past century 15 million girls were killed, 100 million women were subjected to human trafficking and 44.5% of girls are married before 18 years of age.

Countries like Chad, Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, Guatemala, Mali, Somalia, Pakistan and Iraq are the other countries that were listed in the worst countries for women, most of which are war-hit. Women are subjected to cruel conditions and the problems faced by them exceed their counterparts in India.

photo courtesy: asiafoundation

• Mali is one of the poorest countries and there are no laws forbidding genital mutilation and rape.

• In Somalia, 95% of the girls face genital mutilation between 4 and 11 years of age.

• In Sudan, nearly 1 million women's lives were destroyed since 2003.

• In Democratic Republic of Congo 1,100 women are raped every day and 57% of the pregnant women are anaemic.

• In Afghanistan, for every half an hour a woman dies giving childbirth. 85% of the women in Afghanistan give birth without medical attention.

While this is the case in one part of the world the other part of the world gives utmost respect to women and gives them equal rights.

In a recent study, it was found that European countries are best for women.

photo courtesy: swissinfo

• Feminism in Sweden started off during the early 17th century and ever since equal rights for women has been a mainstream topic of discussion. Universities were open to women in 1870 and women were entitled to equal salary in 1947. Equality reflects in the workplace in Sweden. In addition to being the best country for women, Sweden is also the most generous country in the world that donates 1% of the gross national product to humanitarian aid programs each year.

• Denmark offers virtually free Healthcare and education and has the most flexible parental leave policy. According to a study carried out by Euro Stat, Denmark women are ranked as the content women in the whole of Europe.

• In Norway, even Men fight for feminism.

The differences in the treatment of women in different countries are because of the differences in cultures, customs, traditions and socioeconomic status’ of a country. So it is important to understand the customs of every country and learn how the equality landscape is changing globally. Finally, it is high time for women all over the globe, to work together to make this world a better and equal place for all of us to live in.



Written by
Indu Mithra Madhuranthakam