Afghanistan finds itself at the lowest position among 177 countries regarding the status of women. This year’s rankings, place Denmark at the top, affirming its position as the best country for women, scoring more than three times higher than Afghanistan, according to the latest Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Index.
Yemen stands as the second-lowest, followed by the Central African Republic in the global listing. The United States occupies the 37th spot this year, sharing its score with countries like Slovenia, Bulgaria, and Taiwan, in the second quintile.
The WPS Index’s key finding emphasizes that societies where women are thriving tend to be more peaceful, democratic, prosperous, and better equipped to address the challenges of climate change. This is the fourth edition of the report.
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, the WPS Index draws from reputable data sources to gauge women’s inclusion, justice, and security across 177 countries. The 13 indicators it employs encompass various aspects of women’s status, ranging from education and employment to legal frameworks and organized violence.
Elena Ortiz, the lead author of the WPS Index, highlights the practical value of this index, enabling policymakers to pinpoint where resources are needed, academics to study trends, journalists to provide context to their stories, and activists to hold governments accountable for their commitments to advancing women’s status.
ARMED CONFLICT
A noteworthy observation is that all of the bottom 20 countries in this year’s Index have experienced armed conflict between 2021 and 2022. In most of these nations, over half of women reside in close proximity to conflict zones.
Torunn L. Tryggestad, Director of the Peace Research Institute Oslo’s Centre for Gender, Peace and Security, emphasizes the dire situation in Afghanistan, where women face a stark lack of job opportunities, education, and autonomy over their lives, making it the worst place in the world to be a woman.
The WPS Index underscores the inconsistencies between countries concerning women’s wellbeing. For instance, Vietnam ranks 24th in women’s security but a stark 154th in justice for women. This indicates that there is room for improvement in all countries, and the Index helps identify areas where women face disadvantages and where action is urgently needed.
The fourth edition of the WPS Index also offers a sub national analysis of Colombia, with WPS Index scores calculated at the provincial level. Despite the 2016 Peace Agreement, two-thirds of Colombian women live within 50 kilometres of conflict. Provinces most affected by conflict and those with higher Indigenous and Afro-Colombian populations tend to score lower on the WPS Index.
Ambassador Melanne Verveer, Executive Director of the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace, and Security, highlights the increasing conflicts worldwide and the rising authoritarianism that threatens women’s progress. The Index serves as a reminder that the wellbeing of women directly correlates with the wellbeing of nations, making investments in gender equality essential for peace, security, and prosperity.
