This study questions the effectiveness of existing approaches to human rights measurement, which is a growing area of research recently, especially in the context of a city. Empirical studies rather tend to focus on civil and political rights, as economic, social and cultural rights are deemed more complex because of ‘progressive realization' of those rights and their dependence on fiscal capacities of the public authorities (Green 2001, Landman 2004). This study evaluates different approaches to human rights measurement and assessment at national and sub-national levels and presents evidence from Turkey at the city level. The proposed initial indicators in this study have been constructed through participation of academicians and experts from international and local human rights organizations, as well as experts from various district municipalities in Istanbul, Turkey. As a cross cutting analytical category, the focus of the study is “gender inequalities”. The process of indicator development will be discussed through its potentials for improvement in human rights in a city as well as its challenges.