(Image source from: The Hindu)

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has dismissed the outcome of a new survey that ranked India as the world's most dangerous country for women, asserting that he was amazed that Afghanistan, Syria, and Pakistan fared better than India on the list.

Tharoor's remarks came after an outcome of Thomson Reuters Foundation survey ranking India as the world's most dangerous country for women based on a survey of about 550 experts on woman's issues.

Tharoor said there had been an awful lot of unpleasant incidents against women in India in recent years.

"Something which shames every Indian, no question about that, particularly every Indian male. But a sweeping statement like the most dangerous country in the world for women is a bit difficult to swallow," Tharoor said at an event.

A not-for-profit arts organization Indo-American Arts Council had organized a talk with Tharoor regarding his recent books - An Era of Darkness: The British Empire in India and his latest offering Why I am A Hindu.  

Indian women don't face violence like Syria: Tharoor

Tharoor said there were voices arguing for greater gender sensitivity, education, for better police patrolling, more women in police forces to ensure India becomes a safer place for women.

"But India is still a place where women are relatively free. They don’t have the kind of restrictions that say Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia imposes on women in terms of freedom of movement, profession and many other kinds of restrictions," he said.

Tharoor also said that women in India "certainly don’t face the kind of violence" that they do in countries like Syria.

"I'm quite astonished that India would rank above Afghanistan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and many other places as the world’s most unsafe place for women," he said.

Tharoor said that instead of quibbling over a headline-grabbing term like that, the important thing to do was to work together to ensure a safe environment for women in India.

"Whether we disagree with that specific conclusion or not, we must acknowledge that it is a problem. That women are feeling in many ways unsafe, the number of incidents of violence and assault against women is unacceptable and things must be done by the government and by the society to overcome this. There I fully agree, I’m just not so sure about the headline," he said.

For the survey, the poll of 548 people was conducted between March 26 and May 4 through different means.

By Sowmya Sangam