When you plan a journey to a new foreign country, the first thing most of us consider is probably how much it would cost or how to get there. But what if I told you that 49.6% of us have to consider the safety of where we wish to travel. If you haven’t guessed already, the 49.6% refers to women.

It is no secret that some countries are notoriously identified as dangerous places for women to travel to. They are often considered dangerous because of increasing rates of sexual and domestic violence, street safety, intentional homicides, or simply because their governments encourage gender inequality. Yet, by classifying these countries as “20 most dangerous places for women travellers” like Forbes has, we actually manage to worsen the situation for women living there. We may be making female tourists aware of potential risks, but we also inadvertently suppress the opportunity to shed light on the lived realities of women in these conditions.

The realities of women across these 20 dangerous places cannot be confined to a single description as each of their situations is unique. Nonetheless, as someone who has lived in the 4th and travelled to the 8th most dangerous country for women, I would like to attempt to share a snippet of the reality for a women in precarious political situations. 

Firstly, I lived in Mexico, the country ranked 4th most dangerous for female travellers. Now of course you have your daily gang fights in the street and shootings in shopping malls or your monthly mass disappearances and homicides. However, what I believe is incredibly important not to forget is that 3% of murder victims in Mexico are femicides. Some people have argued it is because of the incredibly entrenched traditional gender, I’d agree with those who have said it is due to increased militarization and the “war on drugs”. Nevertheless, as you can see from these statistics, the first thing foreigners connect Mexico with is violence. But there is so much more to the country.

Mexico is a country with a national sense of pride so strong that in every city you’ll find at least one huge Mexican flag. The love Mexicans have for their country has always been a love they wish to share. A love for their extraordinary landscapes, filled with some of the richest flora and fauna you can find on our planet. A love for their cuisine, that is nothing short of mouthwatering and so diverse that the food in the south is entirely distinct. A love for their language, that if you’re even to hold the smallest conversation with a local, you will be greeted with a smile so bright you will think you have seen the sun. A love that if you travel the country prepared to avoid the states of Colima, Morelos and Baja California, you will share seamlessly. But for those women living in these states, it is near impossible to simply avoid their daily reality. 

Women in Mexico confront gender inequality and unsafety on a daily basis. They confront it by being asked by future employers whether their husband agrees with them taking this job, or who will take care of their children if they decide to work. It is as though some rural communities have been left behind in terms of social development. Rural communities where women are banned from voting and girls are unable to obtain an education persist. The fact alone that only in 2024 did Mexico have its first female president, Claudia Sheinbaum, speaks volumes about the country’s gender inequality. 

As a result, women put away their short skirts and tank tops to feel comfortable on public transport and at less risk of kidnappings when going out to parties. Yet they find ways to oppose and revolutionise this cycle of fear they’re trapped in. There have been countless protests and marches in favour of women’s rights and organizations continue to push to make abortion safer ever since it has been decriminalized but still is not culturally accepted. The sheer amount of women who are speaking out against the inequality, with a female head of state have improved the living conditions for women in Mexico. Regardless, when you travel there as a woman you will still pass a construction site and have men whistling after you. A daily event for women living there, but not all there is to their reality. 

Similarly, the 8th most dangerous country for female travellers is Morocco. A country famous for the Atlas mountains, architecture where blends of African, Middle Eastern and European influences blend together, and food like Tagine. To date, Morocco has seen a surprising surplus in tourism. Tourism has also exposed the clear social division of the genders.

Women out in society will be with other women, men with men. While women shop together or visit each other’s houses for tea, men sit outside and go to cafes with their male friends. When women and men are walking together, they will rarely if ever show public displays of affection as simple as holding hands. Instead, it is common for women to walk a couple of steps behind the man. Women are dressed in textiles that aim to conceal every inch of their skin, leaving close to nothing exposed to curious eyes. This phenomenon can even be observed in cosmopolitan cities like Marrakech. 

While you may think that covering yourself in garments is the answer to having a safe trip or living in Morocco as a woman, it is not as simple as that. Sexual harassment is an ongoing issue even for local women. From slurs being shouted after you in broken English to men following women down the street, there are numerous uncomfortable situations to land yourself in. But like in any country, as long as you use your common sense and are vigilant, Morocco remains a stunning North African country to explore. 

Outside of the tourist-filled cities are the rural areas of Morocco where the lives of women to a European mind mirror that of the 18th century. There are clear expectations in terms of a woman’s purpose and role in society. This can especially be seen in the Moroccan countryside. There a woman is to do the food shopping, harvest the crops, collect grasses to feed captive animals, give birth and educate her children. Unlike Mexico, Morrocco’s gender inequality is not predominantly about sexual violence, but the extreme traditional gender roles in which women find themselves trapped.

A way to break free from that entrapment is to go to a local hammam. What Westerners see as a spa-type of place, is to Moroccans a bathhouse where they get a vigorous scrub down by a stranger in public. A complete contrast to the women hidden behind their layers of clothes, in the bathhouse everyone is naked. Hammams have a sort of ritual that consists of what you can practically only define as the intense pain one feels while getting steaming water thrown over their head followed by an aggressive scrub from shoulders to toes. Besides the obvious culture shock, a Hammam is a sort of safe haven for Moroccan women. They are free of their clothes, free to converse and act without the supervision of their fathers or husbands. It is a liberation from the daily social expectation to act a certain way.

Therefore, rather than passing off potential future travel destinations as “too dangerous” for women, we must dare to confront the truth. The truth is that in these “too dangerous” conditions to visit, women live from one day to another. We have an opportunity through tourism to expose to the world the variations in how cultures create societies with different gender roles and to aid women who need their societies to achieve gender equality. The women of Morocco appear trapped, in what to Western minds may seem archaic daily conditions, but to them, it is Islamic tradition that has governed their lives for as long as they can remember. That is not to say that there is no resistance to this lifestyle, but it is a centuries-long established norm. Nonetheless, as seen in Mexico, women wish to rewrite the narrative of what it means to be a woman in a country rich with pride that is overshadowed by violence. These countries may have a history of violence and a culture of suppressing women, but by reducing them as dangerous, we ignore an opportunity to improve the lives of women. Ultimately, behind the veil of “danger” lie the realities of women who are courageous, self-assured and ignored.