Goa, Kerala best states for women, Delhi, Bihar worst
The first ever gender vulnerability index (GVI) has revealed that the safest state for women in India is Goa (0.66), followed by Kerala (0.63) and Mizoram (0.63). The worst state in terms of women's safety was Bihar (0.4) preceded by Delhi (0.43) and UP (0.43). The GVI measured challenges faced by women via four parameters - health, education, poverty and protection from violence.
About the survey behind the GVI
The GVI was prepared by the NGO Plan India. It analyzed more than 170 indicators to achieve four main performance indicators, and then assigned index scores to states between 0-1. Closer the score to 1, better the performance.
The states that performed the best
With a score of 0.649, Goa beat the national average of 0.531. It ranked first in protection, fifth in education, sixth in health and eighth in poverty. Kerala (0.625) came a close second; its top rank in health boosted its overall position. Mizoram (0.62) came third overall: it was ranked the second-best in poverty. Sikkim (0.605) and Manipur (0.604) made up the top-five.
These were the ones that fared the worst
Bihar (0.410) fared among the worst in all aspects: women are vulnerable, poor, unhealthy and uneducated. Delhi fared slightly better (0.43) and was ranked the second worst overall. Its dismal record in education and violence pulled it down. UP (0.433) was among the worst states in all aspects: education, health, violence and poverty. Jharkhand (0.45) and Arunachal (0.456) made up the bottom five.
Some noteworthy observations from the results
Here're some interesting facts: among the northern states, Himachal Pradesh came top at 6th. Tamil Nadu (10th), which has made the most significant advances towards gender equality in health and poverty, fared abysmally in education, early marriage and violence. Despite one high achievement mostly leading to stronger indicators in other sectors, Sikkim (4th) and Punjab (8th) unusually scored high in all aspects except poverty.
