Mumbai among 7 safest cities for women, Delhi on unsafe list

NEW DELHI: Kohima, Visakhapatnam and Bhubaneswar are top scorers among seven cities that qualified as safest for women in the 'Index on Women Safety (NARI) 2025' - based on a survey conducted in 31 major cities covering all states. Ranchi and Srinagar have the lowest scores on the index.

Among metropolitan cities, Mumbai figures among the top seven cities, while the set of seven cities with the lowest scores also includes capital Delhi and Kolkata.

Besides Kohima, the northeastern cities of Aizawl, Gangtok and Itanagar figure among the top cities in the safety rankings, often correlating with higher gender equity, infrastructure, policing or civic participation.

Faridabad, Patna and Jaipur are the other cites with the lowest score, correlating with poorer infrastructure, patriarchal norms or weaker institutional responsiveness, according to the survey, which captured perceptions and lived experiences of 12,770 women to generate the index.

As far as the national average is concerned, the mean score is 65%, and cities in the index have been categorised as "much above", "above", "below", and "much below" this benchmark.

The 'National Annual Report & Index on Women's Safety (NARI) 2025' conceived by data science company Pvalue Analytics was released by National Commission for Women chairperson Vijaya Rahatkar at a programme here.

The NCW chief said a safe environment was crucial for building a developed and inclusive India and assured that the commission will build on the suggestions in the survey report to bridge the gaps to strengthen women safety.

The report highlights that National Crime Records Bureau data presents only the tip of the iceberg -crimes actually registered. NARI shows that two out of three women do not report - meaning NCRB could miss two-thirds of events experienced by women.

The report showed that while 60% of women surveyed felt "safe", a significant 40% felt "not so safe" or "unsafe" in their cities. Perceptions of safety drop sharply at night, highlighting ongoing concerns about public infrastructure (lighting, patrolling) and societal factors, it said.

However, when it comes to reporting of unsafe incidents, reporting remains low with only 33% of victims reporting their experiences to authorities, while 67% choosing not to report.

Prevalence of harassment remains high with 7% women reporting at least one incident of harassment in public spaces in 2024.

However, when it comes to reporting of unsafe incidents, reporting remains low with only 33% of victims reporting their experiences to authorities, while 67% choosing not to report.


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