With just one woman contesting for the post of Thrompon in the upcoming thromde election, it raises the question of why just one woman? Though the number of women contesting elections is increasing in recent years, it is minimal even when the majority of the country’s population is women.
Namgay Peldon is the country’s first female Gup. It’s her tenth year serving as the gup. The 38-year-old says women can revolutionise if they come forward and take up the responsibility.
“It’s important for women to come forward. That’s because if we come forward, we have support from the government and the civil society organisations such as BNEW and NCWC. When we have such support, we should come forward because women can take up the responsibility. The resources are available and it’s us who should come forward and participate,” said Namgay Peldon, the Tashiding Gup in Dagana.
Similarly, 35-year-old Pema Wangmo Tamang is currently serving as the Gesarling Gup. She is one of the two women gups struggling to stand tall to be seen alongside 203 male gups.
“It was difficult when I first decided to contest for the elections. Because society has reservations about women contesting for elections, the pressure I felt was immense. But after I won the election, the duties and responsibilities we got to shoulder gave me more confidence. There are no differences between a man and a woman shouldering responsibilities once you win an election, it’s the same,” she said.
In governance and politics, gender balance in decision-making has a direct impact on a nation’s stability and ability to grow and develop.
“We are almost 50 per cent and the fact that we are in the parliament with only about 15 per cent representation means minority. So when you are a minority in the group and in democracy majority rules. So even if all the women together raise their voice for one particular issue, it still is a minority. So I think that is one of the challenges,” said Dil Maya Rai, a Member of Parliament in the National Assembly.
Disproportionate representation in decision-making translates into the underrepresentation of issues. Simple math shows that 11 women MPs are representing 358,000 females and 61 men represent the remaining 390,877 males.
‘The one thing we as women leaders in the local government can do is we can advocate women in the villages on so many health issues. For instance, we can work together with the health officials in creating awareness on cervical cancer which otherwise male gups cannot do,” said Gup Pema Wangmo Tamang.
“When the two genders get together and when they decide on the decision-making table, then the policies and decisions made become holistic. There were many policies and acts amendments and certain clauses that we could amend for the better and for the general population. So when we get those established, it’s gratifying and satisfying as a member of the parliament,” added MP Dil Maya Rai.
“It’s very important that we have women representatives in the local government elections. That’s because whatever activities we plan for the local government, it has to go through the gewog or dzongkhag. And if we have women representatives, we can put up issues related to women, children, persons with disabilities and the elderly. If it’s a man, then it will be difficult for them to understand and put up issues related to women,” said Gup Namgay Peldon.
And according to Pema Zangmo, the Kempa_Kuduphu’s Tshogpa under Dopshar-ri Gewog in Paro, women representation in the local government is very important as the decision made at any level will equally affect everyone. “From what I have experienced and seen, women can take up the leadership responsibility. It’s not that we cannot do, it’s just that we aren’t coming forward.”
According to the Inter-Parliamentary Union Women in Politics 2020, Bhutan is ranked 148thamong 182 countries. And as per the Global Gender Gap 2020, Bhutan is ranked 131st out of 153 countries. Bhutan scored high in key areas such as educational attainment. However, with few women in parliament and ministerial positions, Bhutan ranks low in political empowerment.
Sonam Pem
