- Kohima, Visakhapatnam, and Bhubaneswar are the safest cities for women according to 'Index on Women Safety (NARI) 2025'
- The survey included 31 big cities of all the states
- Among metro cities, Mumbai is one of the top seven safest
Visakhapatnam, Bhubaneswar, and Kohima were the most efficient among seven cities ranked safest for women in the 'Index on Women Safety (NARI) 2025', a survey of 31 major Indian cities revealed. Ranchi and Srinagar were at the bottom, with Mumbai at the bottom of seven safest big city lists.
Delhi and Kolkata were on the list at the bottom of the safety rankings. Other northeastern Indian cities, such as Aizawl, Gangtok, and Itanagar, were also placed among the safest, with good correlations to greater gender equity, infrastructures, policing, and civic engagement.
Faridabad, Patna, and Jaipur were also placed at the bottom of the city list for having poorer infrastructure, patriarch values, or poor institutional responsiveness.
The poll, commissioned by data science firm Pvalue Analytics and representing the views and experiences of 12,770 women, established the country's national average score at 65 percent. Cities were deemed to be "much above," "above," "below," or "much below" this benchmark.
The report was presented by National Commission for Women (NCW) chairperson Vijaya Rahatkar, who asserted that a secure setting is crucial to developing an inclusive and developed India, stating that NCW will implement the recommendations to enhance women's safety.
Harassment prevalence was high, 7 percent of the women having experienced at least one incidence in 2024, and the most exposed were women aged less than 24 years (14 percent indicated that they had been harassed).
The most common was verbal harassment (58 percent), followed by physical, psychological, economic, and sexual harassment.
Neighborhood’s (38 percent) and public areas (29 percent) were the hotspots. Women's responses were varied: 28 percent confronted the harassers, 25 percent left the area, 21 percent hid in crowds, and 20 percent reported to the police.
NARI Index assessed city safety in several aspects: infrastructure, incidence and reporting of harassment, safety within specific fields (neighborhood, transport, education, work place, health, recreation, internet), and confidence in authorities.
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