Even after more than a decade of democracy and despite efforts towards gender equality in various spheres, the political landscape still reflects a gender imbalance. Almost half of the country’s population is women, but only 7 out of the 10 women candidates who contested in the General Elections of the third National Assembly Elections in 2018 were elected. Will this National Assembly election be any different? The five registered political parties have declared 25 women candidates so far.
Only about 10 per cent of the candidates announced by the parties for the upcoming election are women.
Bhutan Tendrel Party has three women candidates while Druk Nyamrup Tshogpa has seven.
Druk Phuensum Tshogpa also has seven female candidates.
Druk Thuendrel Tshogpa has six women candidates and the People’s Democratic Party has two.
“When Bhutan Tendrel Party was looking for candidates, the party mainly looked at the candidate’s profile, the capability, the expertise and their knowledge. It wasn’t really gender representation. So it just happened that there were three of us in the party. Women understand women’s issues more, better than men do actually. So we need a women’s voice in the Parliament,” said Dorji Wangmo, Bhutan Tendrel Party.
“When Druk Nyamrup Tshogpa finds its candidate, we don’t really look into segregating male and female. We want a candidate who can serve the country and serve the party. It’s mostly men taking part in politics. Our party doesn’t set rules stating the need for more men than women or vice versa. Whoever is elected should serve the country,” said Phurba, Druk Nyamrup Tshogpa.
“We are trying our best to get more female candidates because the international parliamentary and legislative research has shown that when we have more female representatives, they tend to make more balanced laws. We are very aware of that and we tried to get as many female candidates as possible. But in Bhutanese politics and in the landscape that we are facing, there are a lot of difficulties in getting female candidates,” said Passang Dorji, Druk Phuensum Tshogpa.
“I think we are very fortunate to have six female candidates though the journey was not easy. For women, sometimes, even going for 9 to 5 jobs is quite challenging especially if you have elderly and small kids at home. It is quite challenging and demanding. I think that is one reason why many of us are not able to confidently come out even when we have very supportive family members and relatives,” said Susan Lama, Druk Thuendrel Tshogpa
“Women’s participation in politics is important. But when it comes to women’s participation in our party, we couldn’t get more than two. This time we have 19 new candidates. Our first priority was to declare as many women candidates as possible, we couldn’t get women as we hoped. They have many responsibilities and secondly, there aren’t many women who are interested in politics,” said Kuenga Tashi, People’s Democratic Party.
Looking at this year’s National Council Elections, getting a greater number of female representation in politics looks challenging.
Of the five women candidates for the NC election, only one got elected.
“There isn’t any upper hand for the women or any distinction in the decision-making process in both the houses. But if we have a lesser women representation, what worries me and concerns me is that, if there are any policies or guidelines or bills pertaining to women in Bhutan, I am worried about how far the women’s voice, perspectives and experiences will be heard in the house and in the parliament,” said Tshering Tshomo, Zhemgang MP, National Council.
She shared that if the same trend continues, it would not only discourage women from taking part in elections but also make the women candidates lose their confidence.
A lot of women BBS interviewed said achieving equal representation requires not only increased female candidacy but also a shift in societal attitude and worldview surrounding women’s involvement in political leadership.
They said that for any political institution to be responsive to all citizens, there must be equal representation of women in decision-making.
Samten Dolkar
Edited by Sangay Chezom
