Editorial
To be or not to be a man
Women in Bhutan have always enjoyed a special place in the Bhutanese community, home and family. She was protected from harsh realities of old Bhutan. When men went out to the fields to till the soil women generally stayed home doing what had been considered a precious chore – nursing the baby and keeping the home fire burning. Therefore, her role evolved into one, which managed “inner affairs” earning the Bhutanese term for women – Nang gi Aum.
With development and modernization, new realities are emerging, some provoked by western undertones. Bhutan is driven to jump the bandwagon of Gender Equality. It is a signatory to the convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). Not to jump the bandwagon could be construed as not being a progressive society.
But the fact is, the world for our Nang gi Aums is now opening up beyond the “inner affairs”. Development has opened up prospects for Bhutanese women. Although in fewer numbers, today we have women in all spheres of development – doctors, engineers, politicians, bureaucrats, entrepreneurs, judges, teachers and so on and so forth.
Understandably, when Bhutan is gradually transforming into a modern nation state, concepts such as ‘gender equality’ is at the risk of being misinterpreted. Misinterpretations may manifest into behaviors such as refusing to undertake the basic motherly nursing of a baby or demanding to be let into a Goengkhang.
 Equally Different (Click to Zoom) |
Equality is not necessarily being the same.
As a society, today, we are living the consequences of our decisions
made thirty years ago. Our parents decided that girls should not venture
to schools as it involved possible encounters with the wild animals
and walking the rough terrains. Hence, we have to make do with fewer
women judges, doctors and engineers. Things are different today. Schools
are at the center of every village. Girl child now dominates enrolment
in pre primary schools.
Even when Bhutanese women especially in the urban areas live deeply conscious of their right to gender equality, their sisters in the villages have not changed one of their consistent prayers - the prayer to be born as men in the next rebirth.