Expert poll finds Afghanistan is the most dangerous place to be a woman

Afghanistan is the most dangerous place to be a woman because of high levels of poverty, poor health care and violence against female officials, according to a survey, the Guardian reports (Bowcott, 6/15).   

"Pakistan, India and Somalia ranked third, fourth and fifth, respectively, in the global survey of perceptions of threats ranging from domestic abuse and economic discrimination to female foeticide, genital mutilation and acid attacks," TrustLaw writes. "The poll by TrustLaw, a legal news service run by Thomson Reuters Foundation, marked the launch of its new TrustLaw Women section, a global hub of news and information on women's legal rights" (Anderson, 6/15). For the survey, "TrustLaw asked more than 200 gender experts to pick the world's most dangerous countries for women," Reuters notes.

In response to the results, Maryan Qasim, Somalia's women's minister, said, "I'm completely surprised because I thought Somalia would be first on the list, not fifth" (Batha, 6/15).