Kohima and Mumbai are among the safest cities for women in the country, while Delhi, Kolkata and Patna ranked at the lowest level, according to the National Annual Report and Index on Women’s Safety (NARI) 2025.
The NARI index, published by the Group of Intellectuals and Academicians (GIA), was released in Delhi on Thursday by National Commission for Women (NCW) chairperson Vijaya Rahatakar.
The index is based on a survey of 12,770 women across 31 nations, ranking safety levels for women in these places. The national safety score stood at 65 per cent, on the basis of which the index categorised cities as “much above, above, at, below, or much below” benchmarks.
The report said that Kohima, Vishakhapatnam, Bhubaneswar, Aizawl, Gangtok, Itanagara and Mumbai “lead national safety ranking, often correlating with higher gender equity, infrastructure, policing, or civic participation”.
Ranchi, Srinagar, Kolkata, Delhi, Faridabad, Patna and Jaipur ranked the lowest, “correlating with poorer infrastructure, patriarchal norms, or weaker institutional responsiveness”, the report added.
While six in ten women surveyed felt “safe” in their city overall, 40 per cent still considered themselves to be “not so safe” or “unsafe”.
Safety for women at night, especially in public transport or recreational places, also witnessed a sharp drop. While the safety percentage for educational institutions stood at 86 per cent in daylight, perceptions fell sharply for night hours or off-campus.
Merely one-fourth of women said they trusted authorities to take effective action over their safety complaints.
In terms of safety efforts being taken currently, 69 per cent said the measures were somewhat adequate, while more than 30 per cent noted significant failures or gaps.
Only 65 per cent of participants felt there was real improvement over the last two years (2023-2024).
Last year, seven per cent of women said they experienced harassment in public places.
Neighbourhoods, at 38 per cent, and public transport, at 29 per cent, were the most often flagged harassment hotspots in the report. Of these numbers, only one in three victims reported the incidents.
“Two out of three women do not report harassment, meaning NCRB misses the bulk of incidents,” the study said, calling for integration of crime data with perception-based surveys like NARI.
National Commission for Women (NCW) chairperson, Vijaya Rahatakar, launched the report and said that safety cannot be seen as just a law-and-order issue but as one that affects “every aspect of a woman’s life whether it is her education, health, work, opportunities and freedom of movement”.
When women don’t feel safe, “they limit themselves, and women limiting themselves is not only for their own development, but also for the development of the country”, she added.
Rahatkar pressed that building a safe environment was critical for a “developed and inclusive India”, highlighting the four dimensions of women’s security — physical, psychological, financial and digital nature.
“It is our responsibility to protect women not just from crimes on the streets but also from cybercrimes, economic discrimination and mental harassment,” she added.
However, Rahatkar also took note of the positive steps, praising the presence of women police officers and female drivers in public transport, terming the measures as an effective way of confidence-building.
“In many Union Territories, 33 per cent of police personnel are now women, and this has made a decisive difference in building trust,” she said.
The NCW chief also hailed initiatives like women’s helplines, CCTV installations in smart cities and improved safety networks at railway stations, bus stops and depots.
Rahatkar simultaneously urged the entire society to share the responsibility. She said, “We often blame the system, but we must also ask what we have done. Whether it is using helplines, supporting awareness drives, or simply keeping public toilets clean, society’s role is equally important.”
(with PTI inputs)
About the Author
