World's 10 worst countries for women, India at 8

New Delhi: The 21st century has entered its second decade with the world moving towards a more liberal horizon, but there are many countries throughout the world, where women are still victims of brutality, bestiality, violence and repression. There has been an alarming increase in rate of crimes against women particularly in South Asia.Below are the countries which are worst for women to live in: 1. Chad: Women in Chad, Africa, are forced to marry at an early age of 11 or 12. Murders, beatings, underage marriage, and sexual violence – the list of violations is long. Attacks on civilians by armed groups and general instability have been the norm for decades here and these have undoubtedly exacerbated violence against women. Women face a range of abuses from harassment and threats to physical attacks, committed by members of opposition armed groups, bandits and members of the Chadian security forces. 2. Afghanistan: A country with highest maternal mortality rate, one woman dies in childbirth every half an hour. A large majority of women give birth without medical assistance. Illiteracy rate among women is high. Women are not allowed to study and forced to marry at a small age. During the Taliban rule, women were degraded to second class citizens. Despite the defeat of Taliban, women fear to come out in society because of retribution. 3. Democratic Republic of Congo: Women in Congo have not attained the position of equality with men. BBeing a prey of civil wars, crimes against women have become a common phenomenon. Women in the Congo face especially harsh realities; around 1,100 are raped every day. Since 1996, more than 200,000 rapes have been reported in this country. 57 percent of pregnant women are anaemic; women can not sign legal documents without their husbands' authorization. 4. Sudan: The plight of women in Darfur, in western Sudan, has worsened. Abduction, rape or forced displacement has destroyed more than one million women's lives since year 2003. For decades, the women of Sudan have been suffering under article 152 of the penal code, an inhumane, vicious and notorious law first implemented in 1991.Article 152 of Sudan's criminal code stipulates that any conduct or clothing in violation of public decency be punished with 40 lashes. Many women have suffered due to this draconian law. They have been taken from streets, cars or even homes and subjected to violence for no rhyme or reason. 5. Guatemala: The impoverished female under-class of Guatemala in Latin America faces domestic violence, rape and the second highest rate of HIV/AIDS after Sub-Saharan Africa. 6. Mali: One of the poorest countries of the world, there are no laws against female genital mutilation in this African country. Forced early marriages have caused deaths due to pregnancy. 7. Somalia: African country Somalia has been devastated by conflicts for decades. These factors have made living in what was already one of the most dangerous areas on the planet even harsher for women. There has been an increase in various forms of sexual abuse against women, ranging from forced marriages to gang rapes. 8. India: One woman dies every hour in India because of dowry-related crimes, indicating that the country's economic boom has made demands for dowries even more persistent. The National Crime Records Bureau says 8,233 women were killed across India last year because of disputes over dowry payments given by the bride's family to the groom or his family at the time of marriage. NCRB records reveal that a crime against women is committed every three minutes, women is raped every 29 minutes. 50 million girls were killed in the past century in the practice of female infanticide or foeticide; around 100 million women and girls are estimated to be victim of human trafficking; 44.5 percent of girls are married before the age of 18. 9. Pakistan: South Punjab in Pakistan has recorded the most cases of atrocities against women. According to Awaz Foundation, a local NGO, 3,100 such cases were registered during 2012 across 15 districts and 53 tehsils. In 2009, there were 1,621 recorded cases of atrocities against women, in 2010 there were 2,744 cases and in 2011 2,797 cases. An estimated 5,000 women are killed per year due to domestic violence. Selling women, acid attacks, honour killings are common in this Islamic country. 10. Iraq: The US-led invasion to “liberate” Iraq from tyrant Saddam Hussain has led to women caught in the inferno of sectarian violence. The female literacy rate, once the highest in the Arab world, is now among the lowest.