Socio-economic barriers disable Bhutanese women

The NCWC report states only 40 percent of Bhutanese women may have the capacity to participate in public space

In the days of barter system, men played the head honcho and handled business and financial matters. In those days it was inevitably a position reserved for men as it involved walking for days across the mountains to trade goods. Women stayed at home to take care of chores and raised the children.

Fast forward a millennium and the situation hasn’t changed much.This is even after Bhutan’s monetary reform which commenced in 1974 with the introduction of banknotes into the economy.

Majority of Bhutanese women who aspire to participate in public space are still expected to encounter socio- economic barriers, show key findings of the study that was commissioned by the National Commission for Women and Children (NCWC).  It was launched on October 14 by Norway’s minister of international development, Heikki Holmas during the opening conference of Bhutan+10 in Thimphu.

It is found that a large proportion of women may be dependent on men for financial matters and so may lack access to and benefits derived from financial and other resources.

Although it is seen as being a lesser barrier as compared to other constraining factors, “it may be concluded that women face greater socio- economic challenges than their male counterparts, with the result that they are restricted in participating in public life including politics,” states the report.

The report also reveals women receive the least when it comes to land and property inheritance. It states “in about one-third of the Bhutanese society, women don’t inherit land and property, a fact that severely disadvantages them in society.”

Heikki Holmas said “in Norway, women had been responsible for health and education but never defence, never finance. The message as ‘women can’t handle money’, until we got our first woman Minister of Finance. Real people wielding real power is a tremendously strong image for young girls.”

Norway currently has quotas to ensure 40 percent women representation in public life.

While the debate on effectiveness of quotas to achieve gender equality is still on with Bhutan insisting more on the creation of enabling environment for women’s independence rather than introducing a quota system, the study recommends a candidate quota of 20-30 percent for all positions, or based on the size of dzongkhags and gewogs, a certain number of seats can be reserved for women, operated on a rotational basis.

Earlier, during the same conference, education minister Thakur Singh Powdyel has said quotas are rather a controversial and sensitive issue. “I think quotas are a double edged sword. They are good to a point where equality or equity is achieved. But beyond that they may create a situation which could be quite the reverse of what you actually want,” he explained.

“So if we create conditions rather than pursue quotas, which will lead to independence rather than limit people to a condition of dependence,” he added.

In Bhutan, less than 14% of women represent Parliament, and with the first ever local government elections held in June, 2011, less than 5% of the newly elected local leaders are women.

The national plan of action for gender 2008-13 reflects, out of the total 2,117 elected representatives in the country, only four percent are women.

It was only recently this year that the country had its first women Drangpon (Justice) and a Dzongda (governor). There has been no women minister in the history of Bhutan.

“Norway is rich from oil, but what most people don’t know is that of all OECD countries, Norway has the highest participation of women in the pension fund. Women contribute more wealth than oil,” the minister Heikki said.

He went on to say that it is wise to enhance women’s contribution to income. “If you don’t have oil, you know where your fortune is: in the women.”

The NCWC report provides a host of recommendations which could perhaps increase women’s participation in public life. Among others, it includes establishment of day care centres in communities, as well as effective interventions to dispel the mental barriers that women are less capable then men. It includes sustained gender awareness programs that can also be tied with non-formal education program to break down the barrier of low self- esteem, and institute compulsory education up to the tenth grade to ensure that lack of education doesn’t stop women from participating in politics, as well as continue to promote non-formal education programs with greater vigour.