The National Commission for Women has rejected the findings of a survey that says India is the world’s most dangerous country for women.

The Thomson Reuters Foundation, after a survey of 548 experts on women’s issues, ranked India as the world’s most dangerous country for women, followed by Afghanistan and Syria, due to the high risk of sexual violence.

Acting Chairperson of the National Commission for Women Rekha Sharma rejected the survey report, saying the sample size was small and could not be representative of the whole country, PTI reported.

“Women are very aware in India of issues and there is no way that we could be ranked number 1 in such a survey,” Sharma said. “The countries that have been ranked after India have women who are not even allowed to speak in public.”

The Maneka Gandhi-led Ministry of Women and Child Development also rejected the findings of the survey, according to NDTV.

The 548 experts focused on women’s issues including aid and development professionals, academics, health workers, policymakers, non-government organisation workers, journalists, and social commentators. They were asked to name five of the 193 United Nations member states they thought were most dangerous for women. The survey ranked the countries on six key areas – healthcare, discrimination, cultural traditions, sexual violence, non-sexual violence and human trafficking.