According to the ‘NARI-2025 Report’ of the National Commission for Women, Kohima of Nagaland is India’s safest city

Introduction - The National Commission for Women (NCW) has released the National Annual Report and Index (NARI) 2025 on women’s safety. It is a survey based on the perceptions of 12,770 women conducted in 31 major cities.

• In the National Annual Report and Index (NARI) 2025 on women’s safety released by the National Commission for Women (NCW), Kohima, Visakhapatnam, and Bhubaneswar are among the seven cities that are top scorers, considered the safest for women.
• This survey is based on a survey conducted in 31 major cities of all states. This index has been prepared by including the perceptions and experiences of 12,770 women in this survey.
• The ‘National Annual Report and Index (NARI) 2025 on Women’s Safety’ conceptualized by data science company PValue Analytics was released by Vijaya Rahatkar, Chairperson of the National Commission for Women, in a program.

Safest Indian cities for women in 2025 (NARI Report)

• Kohima, Nagaland, strong gender equality, civic participation
• Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, strong infrastructure, active policing system
• Bhubaneswar, Odisha, effective institutions, urban planning
• Aizawl, Mizoram, high social trust, safe urban culture
• Gangtok, Sikkim, community support, responsive policing system
• Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh, inclusive local governance
• Mumbai, Maharashtra, vigilant policing system, civic participation

NARI 2025: Most unsafe cities for women

• Jaipur
• Patna
• Faridabad
• Delhi
• Kolkata
• Srinagar
• Ranchi

Key features

• Among the types of harassment faced by women, verbal abuse emerged as the most common form, followed by physical and mental harassment.
• It was also found that 50% of women faced harassment in public transport facilities, followed by 19% in neighborhoods and 13% at workplaces.
• Notably, 40% of women who faced harassment said they decided not to take any action, while 26% reported incidents to authorities and 19% sought help from others.
• When asked about the reasons for feeling unsafe, 26% cited “the people of the city,” followed by crime rate (18%) and deserted areas (11%).
• The report further stated that about half of the respondents (45%) demanded increased police presence to improve safety, while 39% demanded better infrastructure such as street lighting and CCTV cameras. In addition, 21% of women said that learning self-defense skills would make them feel safer.