The Egyptian capital Cairo is the world's most dangerous megacity for women, with high rates of harassment and a lack of opportunities. In the Thomson Reuters Foundation poll, London ranked best metropolis for women.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/A.Gintenreiter
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The Egyptian capital Cairo is the world's most hostile megacity for women, according to a poll by the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters.
Karachi in Pakistan, Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and India's Delhi ranked similarly poorly, with Delhi faring worst in terms of sexual violence.
— Harmful cultural practices were most apparent in Cairo.
— London in the UK ranked as the best megacity for women, followed by the Japanese and French capitals; Tokyo and Paris.
Danger in Cairo, lacking bank access in Kinshasa
Experts in Cairo point out that treatment of women had worsened since the Arab Spring movement in 2011.
Rape and sexual violence is rife in cities like DelhiImage: Getty Images/N. Seelam
"Everything about the city is difficult for women. We see women struggling in all aspects. Even a simple walk on the street, and they are subjected to harassment, whether verbal or even physical," said high-profile Egyptian journalist and women's rights campaigner Shahira Amin.
In Lima, high teenage pregnancy rates and restrictive abortion laws mean risky illegal terminations are widespread. As a result, complications from botched abortions are a leading cause of death for women in Peru.
In Kinshasa, women mostly work in small, informal businesses or agriculture, sectors that tend to be cut off from banking, as many women do not even have access to legal documents required to open an account, for example.
London, Tokyo, Paris top for women
London, on the other hand, was praised for easy access to health care, low rates of harassment and good economic opportunities.
"There is no other city in the world where I would want to raise my daughters," London Mayor Sadiq Khan told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
He called London one of the most progressive capitals in the world, but admitted issues like the gender pay gap and too few women role models at the highest levels in public life still had to be resolved.
Tokyo was ranked safest for women while Paris scored well overall. However, campaigners say harassment is still an issue.
London was ranked best megacity for womenImage: picture-alliance/dpa/F. Gentsch
Moscow outperformed New York on several counts and was named most female-friendly city if judged solely on cultural practices.
In the first poll of this kind, 380 experts from 19 cities with a population of 10 million or more were asked how these metropolises fared in terms of sexual harassment and violence, cultural practices, access to health care and finance, as well as economic opportunities in general.
A megacity is defined as housing 10 million people or more. Since 1990, the number of megacities has tripled to 31, including six in China and five in India. The UN expects this number to rise to 41 by 2030.
Where women rule the country
There are 195 independent states in the world — and the vast majority are ruled by men. Female heads of government or state are rare, but those in power are strong leaders. DW takes a look at some powerful politicians.
Image: Reuters/Lehtikuva/V. Moilanen
Sanna Marin
The 34-year-old Sanna Marin was elected by her party in December 2019 to serve as Finland's prime minister after Antti Rinne resigned over fallout from a postal strike. Once she is sworn in, set for mid-December, she will become one of the world's youngest head's of states. She previously served as her country's transport minister.
Image: Reuters/Lehtikuva/V. Moilanen
Jacinda Arden
Since October 2017, Jacinda Arden has served as the 40th prime minister of New Zealand. She took office at the age of 37. She is also only the second woman to give birth while in office. Arden is regarded as one of the world's most powerful women and was praised internationally for her response to the Christchurch terror attacks in 2019.
Image: AFP/Getty Images/S. Keith
Jeanine Anez
After Evo Morales resigned as Bolivia's president in November 2019, the 52-year-old Jeanine Anez became the interim leader of the country. Previously a vice president of the Senate, she has said she would like to try to schedule fresh elections as soon as possible. She is politically right-wing.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/J. Karita
Sophie Wilmes
After serving as Belgium's budget minister, Sohpie Wilmes became the country's prime minister — and its first female one — in late October 2019. The 44-year-old has a tough task before her: scraping together a majority from a highly fragmented national parliament. She belongs to the French-speaking liberal-centrist MR party.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Belga/V. Lefour
Zuzana Caputova
Slovakia elected Zuzana Caputova as its first female president in March 2019. She took office in June, also becoming the youngest-ever president at age 45. Her political views are marked by her strong environmentalism and her determination to weed out corruption in the central European state. Prior to becoming president, she had not held an elected political office.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/D. Gluck
Angela Merkel
The 65-year-old was appointed chancellor in 2005 — the country's first female head of government — and is currently serving her fourth term as Germany's leader. The pastor's daughter from communist East Germany and chemistry doctorate was named "Person of the Year 2015" by Time magazine. Her term is scheduled to end in 2021, and she has said she will not pursue the chancellor position again.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/O.Hoslet
Sahle-Work Zewde
The 69-yeaer-old Sahle-Work Zewde was elected unanimously by the members of Ethiopia's parliament to serve as the country's 5th president. She is the first woman to fill the role, though the role is largely ceremonial. However, as of 2019, she is Africa's only serving head of state. A career diplomat, she had previously held various high-level positions in the UN.
Image: Reuters/C. Allegri
Tsai Ing-wen
Tsai Ing-Wen is the first woman to serve as president of the Republic of China, more commonly known as Taiwan. Her inauguration in May 2016 led Beijing to freeze official relations with the small island, which the mainland claims can never be independent. Tsai has made it clear she will not "bow to pressure" over the issue of sovereignty. She has announced she will run for reelection in 2020.
Image: Reuters/T. Siu
Erna Solberg
Norway, too, is governed by a woman. Erna Solberg took office in 2013. The 58-year-old is the wealthy northern country's second female prime minister, after Gro Harlem Brundtland, who held the position in the 80s and 90s. Her tough asylum policies earned her the nickname "Iron Erna." She also heads up Norway's Conservative Party.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/V. Wivestad Groett
Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila
The 52-year-old, Namibia's fourth prime minister, has been in office since 2015. Kuugongelwa-Amadhila went into exile in Sierra Leone as a young teenager. She pursued higher education in the US, graduating with a degree in economics before returning home in 1994, where she began working in politics. She is the first woman to head Namibia's government and a strong proponent of women's rights.
Image: Imago/X. Afrika
Sheikh Hasina
Sheikh Hasina is the 10th and longest serving prime minister in the history of Bangladesh. Before her current term, which began in 2009, she also held the office from 1996-2001. Forbes business magazine listed the 72-year-old on its list of the World's 100 Most Powerful Women in 2016, 2017 and 2018.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Bildfunk
Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic
The 51-year-old held several government positions and represented Croatia as ambassador to the United States before she was elected in 2015 as the country's first woman president, and its youngest. Grabar-Kitarovic's position from 2011 to 2014 as assistant secretary general for public diplomacy at NATO makes her the highest-ranking female ever within NATO's administrative team.
