Here are the world’s 10 most dangerous cities for women and what they have in common.

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A new survey from Reuters' charitable foundation lists the worst mega-cities for women, ranking New York City as the 13th worst. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images) 

Carlos Garcia

According to a Thompson Reuters Foundation survey, a ranking of the worst mega-cities for women finds that not one of the top 10 is in the U.S. — and only two are in the Western hemisphere.

What are the top 10 mega-cities in this poll?

The top 10 cities, starting with the worst, are:

1. Cairo, Egypt
2. Karachi, Pakistan
3. Kinshasa, Congo
4. New Delhi, India
5. Lima, Peru
6. Mexico City, Mexico
7. Dhaka, Bangladesh
8. Lagos, Nigeria
9. Jakarta, Indonesia
10. Istanbul, Turkey

Are there any U.S. cities on the full list?

Surprisingly, New York City comes in at 13th worst, following Sao Paolo, Brazil; and Buenos Aires, Argentina.

What else is notable?

Among the top 10 worst mega-cities for women, the seven of 10 have majority or plurality of Muslim population, including the top three.

Is the report reliable?

The methodology of the survey is somewhat suspect. The compilers of the report asked experts in each of 20 mega-cities to answer a survey about how well they think that city treats the average women in several categories. But it appears that the cities are chosen arbitrarily and with such a small count (only 20), the comparative value of the rankings could be disputed easily.

For instance, rape and crime statistics can be somewhat easily compared, but whether the culture in New York City is equally hostile for women the culture in Manila, Philippines, which came in 14th overall, appears suspicious. This category included practices such as, “female genital mutilation, child, early or forced marriage, female infanticide,” and yet Manila was deemed less dangerous for women than New York City.

Part of the reason the results should be taken with a grain of salt is that 20 cities were chosen out of the 31 “mega-cities” identified by the United Nations. Only one city was allowed per country, which likely forces Western and westernized countries up the list of rankings to artificially impose diversity where a larger list might be more accurate and representative.