Which country has the worst human rights record on women
Executive summary
The strongest, consistent answer from the sources is that Afghanistan currently has the worst human-rights record for women: it ranks at or near the bottom of major composite measures of women’s well‑being, and reporting documents severe rollbacks under Taliban rule that curtailed women’s freedoms and security [1] [2] [3]. That conclusion is not uncontested—other states such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia, Yemen and pockets of crisis‑ridden states show catastrophic patterns on specific indicators (FGM, early marriage, mass sexual violence, maternal mortality)—and different indices weight those harms in different ways [4] [5] [3].
1. Why a single “worst” country is nevertheless a composite judgment
The most authoritative composite used in the reporting is the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Index, which scores countries on inclusion, justice and security across 13 indicators and places Afghanistan at the bottom of its most recent ranking—making it the single country most consistently identified as worst by that measure [1]. Composite indices like WPS synthesize many dimensions so the “worst” label reflects an aggregate of political exclusion, acute insecurity and legal and social barriers, not a single type of abuse, and other datasets measure different slices of harm that can make other countries appear worse on particular issues [4].
2. What the evidence shows about Afghanistan specifically
Reporting and data cited by multiple outlets document that Afghanistan sits at the lowest rung on the WPS scale and has seen systematic removal of rights—expanding vice and virtue codes, bans on women’s public visibility, restrictions on education and work and targeted violence against activists—which together produce catastrophic outcomes for women’s safety and autonomy [1] [2] [3]. The WPS methodology explicitly combines measures of women’s inclusion, sense of security and access to justice, so Afghanistan’s bottom placement reflects converging deficits across those domains [1].
3. Other contenders depending on the metric—DRC, Somalia, Yemen, Pakistan
Different metrics highlight other severe records: Somalia records extraordinarily high prevalence of female genital mutilation (over 99% among 15–49 year olds, per UNFPA cited by Concern), and features plummeting parliamentary representation and dire humanitarian conditions [3]. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is repeatedly flagged for mass sexual violence in conflict and very low rankings on measures tied to physical integrity and security [5] [2]. Yemen’s legal and humanitarian collapse also places it at or near the bottom on gender development indices [3] [2]. Pakistan and other South Asian countries are repeatedly listed among the worst when child marriage, limited economic participation and impunity for gender‑based violence dominate the profile [6] [7].
4. How indices and media choices shape the narrative—and their limits
Indices like WPS [1], Human Freedom/VDem‑based human rights metrics [4] [8] and thematic lists by NGOs and outlets [3] [6] [9] differ in scope: some prioritize legal frameworks and female political representation, others focus on violence or access to services. That methodological variation means “worst” is partly a function of what is measured and who compiles the list, and single‑country labels can obscure regional variation and the plight of women inside conflict zones within otherwise higher‑ranked states [4] [9].
5. Alternative viewpoints and hidden agendas in reporting
Some lists published by advocacy groups or media outlets aim to mobilize donors or attention (Concern, National Geographic, InsiderMonkey), which can emphasize particular horror metrics to spur action; academic or data‑driven projects may privilege replicable indicators [3] [9] [6]. That does not negate the realities documented—rather it underscores that readers should interpret “worst” as an analytic shorthand derived from selected indicators and institutional priorities [1] [4].
6. Bottom line and limits of available reporting
On the balance of the cited, cross‑checked sources, Afghanistan emerges as the country with the most severely diminished human rights for women across multiple domains according to the WPS Index and corroborating reportage about legal crackdowns and exclusion [1] [2] [3]. However, for specific atrocities—mass FGM, wartime sexual violence, or extreme maternal mortality—Somalia, DRC, Yemen and other states appear as the worst in those narrow dimensions, and the selection of a single “worst” depends on which harms are weighted most heavily [3] [5] [2]. The available reporting and indices support these conclusions but do not capture every local variation or the most recent clandestine abuses; where sources are silent, the analysis refrains from asserting facts beyond those reports [1] [4].