Poll names Cairo 'most dangerous' megacity for women

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The Egyptian capital Cairo has been named the world’s most dangerous megacity for women in an international experts’ poll conducted by the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Women’s rights campaigners in Cairo said centuries-old traditions made Cairo a tough city, with discrimination rife. Women have also limited access to healthcare, finance and education.

A woman reads while waiting for the Underground in London. /Photo via sohu.com

Sexual harassment

India's Delhi and the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo ranked the worst for risk of sexual harassment, rape and physical assault.

The fatal gang rape of a woman on a Delhi bus in 2012 led to protests, forcing the government to toughen penalties for sex crimes.

Authorities recorded four rapes every hour in India in 2015.

A poll conducted by Datafolha for the Brazilian Forum of Public Security this year found one in three Brazilian women aged 16 or over had suffered physical, verbal or psychological violence in the previous year.

London the best, Shanghai in fifth place

Night view of The Bund in Shanghai. /Photo via sohu.com

London was named the best city for women and was praised for easy access to health care, low rates of harassment and top for economic opportunities.

Tokyo was ranked safest for women while Paris scored well overall.

Shanghai was ranked as the fifth best megacity for women.

China’s most populous city and the world’s third largest, with an estimated population of 24.5 million, was seen as second best when it came to women having access to economic resources such as education, land and financial services such as bank accounts, and third safest in terms of sexual violence and harassment.

Moscow outperformed New York on several counts and was named the most female-friendly city judged solely on cultural practices.

Source(s): Reuters