Gangtok ranked among safest cities for women in NARI 2025 Report

The newly released National Annual Report and Index on Women’s Safety (NARI 2025) has painted a worrying picture about the safety of women in India. According to the findings, four out of every ten women living in cities said they feel “not so safe” or even “unsafe” in their surroundings. Safety concerns were particularly higher during the night, with poor street lighting and lack of visible security being the main reasons behind fear.

The survey, which covered 12,770 women across 31 cities in the country, has highlighted the daily struggles of women in public spaces. From constant staring, catcalling, lewd remarks, to instances of physical touching, harassment has become a part of everyday life for many. This has forced some young girls to leave schools midway, while several working women admitted that they had to give up their jobs due to unsafe environments.

While cities like Ranchi, Srinagar, Kolkata, Delhi, Faridabad, Patna, and Jaipur were ranked as the least safe for women, the report brought a ray of hope for the North East. Cities such as Kohima, Aizawl, Gangtok, and Itanagar were listed among the safest in India. For Sikkim, this recognition is significant. Gangtok’s inclusion in the safe cities list shows that small hill states, despite limited infrastructure, are able to provide women with a relatively secure environment.

Locals in Gangtok say that community bonding, smaller population size, and active police presence contribute to the sense of security. Women in the capital city of Sikkim often walk freely in marketplaces and neighbourhoods even after dusk, something that remains a challenge in bigger metros. However, social activists in the state have cautioned that Sikkim should not become complacent. “We may be safer than other cities, but we still have cases of harassment that go unreported. Safety is also about dignity, respect, and equal treatment, not just about low crime numbers,” said a women’s rights advocate in Gangtok.

The NARI 2025 report also revealed that 7 per cent of women reported facing harassment in 2024, with younger women between 18 and 24 years being the most at risk. In sharp contrast, the official National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data for 2022 had recorded only 0.07 per cent of crime against women, showing a huge gap between lived experiences and reported cases. Experts said this gap highlights the “dark figure” of unreported harassment, where women often choose silence due to stigma, fear of blame, or lack of trust in legal systems.

Across India, women’s perception of safety remains low because of inadequate public transport, poor urban planning, and a mindset that often shifts the blame onto the victim rather than the perpetrator. The report has stressed that improving infrastructure, building gender-sensitive transport systems, and changing societal attitudes are as important as policing and law enforcement.

The NARI 2025 report has once again underlined that women’s safety is not only about crime statistics but also about how women “feel” in their daily lives. And while Gangtok may be showing a positive path, the national picture reminds us that India has a long journey ahead in making its cities safer and more welcoming for women.