1/19
  • 1 Canada
    Dancers perform with pink umbrellas during the annual Cherry Blossom Festival celebrations in Vancouver.Reuters
  • 2. Germany
    Girls hold lit candles during in a prayer vigil service with young people conducted by Pope Benedict XVI in FreiburgReuters
  • 3. Britain
    Britain's Princess Anne raises a torch with the Olympic Flame next to Spyros Kapralos, head of the Greek Olympic Committee, during an Olympic flame handover ceremony at the Panathenaic stadium in Athens May 17, 2012. Greece formally hands over the Olympic flame to a London delegation led by Princess Anne on Thursday at the Panathenaic stadium where the first modern Games were held in 1896.Reuters
  • 4. Australia
    Umbrella girls wait to enter the track at the end of the qualifying session of the Monaco F1 Grand Prix on 26/05/2012.Reuters
  • 5. France
    Young girls read a newspaper as they gather to observe a minute of silence at Capitole's place in Toulouse.Reuters
  • 6. United States
    Sen. Barbara Mikulski, who reintroduced the Paycheck Fairness Act last week, called for a "new American revolution" for women following the measure's failure in the Senate on Tuesday.Reuters
  • 7. Japan
    Kadeer speaking at the WUC meeting in Tokyo on Monday, with the Japanese flag behind her.Reuters
  • 8. Italy
    Italian actress Isabella RosselliniWikimedia Commons
  • 9. Argentina
    Argentine actress Catherine FulopWikimedia commons
  • 10. South Korea
    A woman wipes away tears after paying respects to deceased former South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun, at a memorial altar in Seoul.Reuters
  • 11. Brazil
    Brazilian super model Gisele Bundchen (R) dances alongside a carnival queen at the Mangueria samba school in Rio de Janeiro, February 20, 2004.Reuters
  • 12. Turkey
    Kurds in southeastern Turkey.Reuters
  • 13. Russia
    Maria Sharapova of Russia shakes hands with Zakopalova of the Czech Republic after winning her match during the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in ParisIBTimes Pictures
  • 14. China
    Chinese New Year 2012: Two male folk artists dressed as Chinese traditional women dance at a Spring Festival Temple Fair on the second day of the Chinese Lunar New Year at Longtan Park in Beijing January 24, 2012.Reuters
  • 15. Mexico
    Foreign temporary workers with H2-B visas shuck crayfish at a facility owned by CJ's Seafood in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana. The workers, from Tamaulipas state, Mexico, filed a complaint with the US Labor Department on Wednesday alleging company officials robbed them of their overtime, compelled them to work shifts up to 24 hours, and made physical threats. CJ's is a supplier for Wal-Mart, which has said it is investigating the complaint.National Guestworker Alliance,
  • 16. South Africa
    South Africa actress Alice KrigeWikimedia commons/ Flickr
  • 17. Indonesia
    Acehnese women cross a temporary bridge to attend celebrations of Maulidin Nabi or the birth of Prophet Muhammad at Sampoiniet village in CalangReuters
  • 18. Saudi Arabia
    Saudi women shop at the Al-Hayatt mall in RiyadhReuters
  • 19. India
    Married Hindu women devotees are seen through the sacred threads being tied around a banyan tree during the Hindu religious festival of Vata Savitri Purnima in Ahmedabad.Reuters

India, the place where girls are worshipped, has been ranked as the 'worst place to be a woman' among the world's biggest economies, according to a global poll of experts.

The global poll conducted by TrustLaw, a legal news service run by Thomson Reuters Foundation, surveyed 370 gender specialists from across the world.

The global poll ranked Canada as the best place, excluding the European Union economic group, followed by Germany, Britain, Australia and France in the top five lists.  

The United States is ranked sixth due to concerns about reproductive rights and affordable healthcare.

On the other side of the scale, Saudi Arabia - where women are banned from driving and who were deprived of the right to vote until 2011 - is ranked the second-worst after India, followed by Indonesia, South Africa and Mexico.

"Infanticide, child marriage and slavery make India the worst," the poll concluded.

"India is incredibly poor, Saudi Arabia is very rich. But there is a commonality and that is unless you have some special access to privilege, you have a very different future, depending on whether you have an extra X chromosome, or a Y chromosome," Nicholas Kristof, journalist and author commented on the poll results.

The Gender Inequality Index (GII), which looks at the reproductive health, the labour market and empowerment of women through education and politics, has also reportedly ranked Saudi Arabia and India among the absolute worst places for women.

"In India, women and girls continue to be sold as chattels, married off as young as 10, burned alive as a result of dowry-related disputes and young girls exploited and abused as domestic slave labour," one of those polled was quoted as saying.

The news service questioned professionals, academics, health workers, policymakers, journalists and development specialists with expertise in gender issues to grade the 19 countries in terms of the overall best and worst place to be a woman, Reuters reported.

They graded the countries of the G20 in six groups based on their quality of health, liberty from violence, their contribution in politics, about the work place opportunities, access to various resources and freedom from trafficking and slavery.

Here is the list of the countries and their ranking:

1. Canada 2. Germany 3. Britain 4. Australia 5. France 6. United States 7. Japan 8. Italy 9. Argentina 10. South Korea 11. Brazil 12. Turkey 13. Russia 14. China 15. Mexico 16. South Africa 17. Indonesia 18. Saudi Arabia 19. India