Aspiring women politicians say acceptance by the society still remains the biggest challenge.
This was pointed out during a dialogue in Paro between eleven aspiring women politicians from three political parties and journalists.
At the dialogue, the women candidates shared their experiences. They said while male opponents look down on them, rural voters still believe male candidates would be better than female.
“Most do not see women as leaders, so for many, it is difficult to visualize women in leadership positions,” Dechen Wangmo, North Thimphu’s candidate of DNT, said.
“The challenges as a woman are different to that of men’s. When we step forward we think about our family. The general misconception is that women feel they have low self-confidence and esteem than men,” Karma Lhamo, Monggar Constituency’s candidate of DPT, said.
“I went to Zhemgang on 21st April, the day NC elections concluded but still I am not able to find a coordinator for one of my Gewogs. And now I am questioning, ‘is it because of BKP being fairly new?’ or because of me being a woman and they don’t have trust and confidence,” Kesang Choden, Bardo_Trong Constituency’s candidate of BKP, said.
The candidates also shared their expectations from the media and requested to give them a voice, face and platform.
Out of the 188 aspiring National Assembly candidates from four political parties, only 19 are women.
Bhutan Kuen-Nyam Party (BKP) has the highest number of women candidates with seven followed by Druk Nyamrup Tshogpa (DNT) and Druk Phuensum Tshogpa (DPT) with five each.
People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has only two women candidates.
