The safest place in the world to be a woman? Try telling that to these Icelandic campaigners

Icelandic women in Öfgar, photographed in Reykjavik (from left): Helga Ben, Thórhildur Gyða Arnarsdóttir, Ólöf Tara Harðardóttir and Hulda Hrund Guðrúnar Sigmundsdóttir. Photograph: Arni Torfason/The Observer

Iceland is often labelled the best place in the world to be a woman, as well as the safest country on Earth. But many Icelandic women roll their eyes in frustration at such claims.

“That is crap,” says 35-year-old Hulda Hrund Guðrúnar Sigmundsdóttir. “This has been shoved down our throats ever since we were little. We’re told we’re so safe, while at the same time our mothers are warning us not to talk to men.”