Map of the Day: The World’s Most Dangerous Megacities for Women

Today’s map comes from the Thompson Reuters Foundation, which launched a first-of-its kind poll ranking the world’s megacities in terms of how hostile they are for women living in them.

There are 19 megacities in the world, and in each of them the Foundation sought out 20 experts for interviews about women’s issues in those cities, which included questions about sexual violence, harassment, access to health care and economic opportunities, among other things.

They found that these 10 cities ranked the lowest across these polls, and also have posted a series of original stories examining some aspect of life for women in these cities

 

Why this matters

The world is rapidly urbanizing. The UN estimates that by 2050, some two thirds of every human on the planet will live in a megacity housing over 10 million people. This is up from 54 percent today. The number of megacities is also expected to increase sharply, to 40 cities by 2030. Designing policies and shifting cultural norms in a way that protects the rights of half the population of those cities is obviously crucial to enhancing the life opportunities for women who live there.