Afghanistan ranks last in global index on women’s status

NEW YORK (Agencies): Afghanistan ranks worst of 177 countries in terms of the status of women, according to this year’s Women, Peace and Security (WPS) index released Tuesday in New York.

The WPS Index is published by Georgetown University’s Institute for Women, Peace and Security (GIWPS) and the Centre on Gender, Peace and Security at the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO).

It draws on recognized data sources to measure women’s inclusion, justice and security in 177 countries. The WPS Index uses 13 indicators to measure women’s status, ranging from education and employment to laws and organized violence, PRIO said.

Denmark leads the 2023 rankings as the top country to be a woman, scoring more than three times higher than Afghanistan at the bottom. Yemen ranks second lowest and the Central African Republic is third in the global listing.

The United States ranks 37th this year, scoring similarly to Slovenia, Bulgaria and Taiwan in the second quintile.

“Since 2021, Afghanistan has ranked the worst in the world to be a woman. Afghan women wake up each day to no jobs, no education and no autonomy over their lives.

This report should serve as a wakeup call to world leaders that all Afghanistan’s women are imprisoned,” said Torunn L. Tryggestad, Director of the Peace Research Institute Oslo’s Centre for Gender, Peace and Security.

This comes as the IEA has repeatedly said that it is committed to ensuring women’s rights according to Sharia.