Dhaka 7th worst megacity for women: Poll

Dhaka has been rated as the seventh worst megacity for women and Cairo positioned the last in the list, followed by Karachi, Kinshasa and New Delhi, according to an international poll with women's rights experts.

In the poll conducted by Thomson Reuters Foundation which asked experts on women's issues in 19 megacities how well women are protected from sexual violence, harmful cultural practices, and about access to healthcare and finance.

The Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka, with an estimated 18 million people ranked as fourth worst for women facing the risk of sexual violence and harassment and third most dangerous for women facing harmful cultural practices such as female genital mutilation and forced marriages.

Meanwhile, London, Tokyo and Paris are the best megacities for women, according to the results of the global perception poll. 

"We surveyed 380 experts in women's issues in the world's 19 biggest megacities, each home to over 10 million people, to assess how well women are protected from sexual violence and harmful cultural practices, and whether they have access to good healthcare, education and economic opportunities," says the foundation in a statement yesterday.

What this poll reveals - even in megacities that performed well - is how

much remains to be done before these vast cities can be considered safe for women, let alone places where they can thrive. The results are a snapshot of the significant challenges women around the world face on a daily basis," said Monique Villa, CEO of the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

While London tops the poll – buoyed by Britain's free National Health Service, as well as ranking first for economic opportunities – it did not fare best with regard to women being protected from sexual violence and harmful cultural practices.

In an interview with the Thomson Reuters Foundation, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: "The progress we're making as a city is not happening fast enough. We must redouble our efforts to remove any barriers to women's success and to unlock their full potential."

Moscow ranked fourth best overall, outperforming New York on a range of measures, and was named the most female-friendly city judged solely on protection against harmful cultural practices.

Experts surveyed in Cairo, which came last overall, said conditions for women have deteriorated since the Arab Spring. The capital of the Arab world's most populous country fared worst when it came to harmful cultural practices for women, such as female genital mutilation and forced marriage, and was named the third worst city when respondents were asked if women were at risk of sexual harassment and violence.