Of Gender & Women in Bhutan

Bhutan, a small speck on the world map, has acknowledge the problem of gender discrimination particularly against female with the global sensitization and continuous follow up done by the UN agencies in the country.

While the definition of gender discrimination itself cannot be uniform as it has to fit within the cultural context of each society, the global community is pushing forward with the agenda blinding themselves to look at the socio-cultural ramifications of each country.

Bhutan having a negligible impact on the global scene is a victim of such global agenda. Few organizations have been established probably to diagnose and solve such problems. BUT the issue is does Bhutan have a problem? If yes, what is the magnitude of the problem?

The following abstract from Yoshiro Imaeda’s book “Enchanted by Bhutan” gives a very clear picture. Imaeda lived and worked in Bhutan from 1981 till 1990.

“What deserves special mention is the status of women in Bhutan. Bhutan has vestiges of matriarchal society, so it is the women in the family who often inherit the property such as the house and the field. This financial foundation is also one of the reasons they are socially and mentally independent.
The traditional marriage style in Bhutan, especially in eastern Bhutan, was a commuting relationship. A man approached a woman during the day time asking her if she would like him to visit her that night. He would come to the promised venue and give her the signal. Only if the women approved did she open the door and let him in. The woman took the lead in making decisions. It was an official marriage when the man stayed until breakfast time the next morning. The man married into the woman’s family and became a part of the workforce. The field and the house belonged to the women and the men were viewed as “help” for the women with labor and reproduction.

Naturally, the women hold the power in the household. All the property belonged to women; the men are just part of the workforce of the household. This is more or less the case with families originally from the east who now live in Thimphu. The salary of the husband, who is a civil servant, only amounts to an allowance or money to spend on tobacco and drinks. The wife possesses the property in the rural home, weaves at home, to make money and often runs a business in Thimphu. She is the primary breadwinner of the family. She holds the power.

I have heard that, quite often the men get thrown out of the family. The men did not resist leaving the woman’s household. The situation remained the same even if the couple had children. The children would be taken care by members of the extended family on wife’s side, so there was no issue related to child custody.
In Japan, divorced women have few chances of remarrying and even fewer chances if they have children. This is not the case with men and one major reason is due to difference in their ability to support themselves. In Japan, men are able to support themselves after the divorce. However, the situation is different in Bhutan. The house, the field and other properties belong mostly to the women. The man has nothing but himself. It is obvious who is in more favorable position after the divorce. The husband is now older and almost broke. The wife, on the other hand, may be older but has properties. Here the woman is again in a better position, with options to make decisions. Therefore, it is quite common for older Bhutanese women with children to marry men much younger than themselves.

There are numerous other points where Bhutanese women seem to stand out in their independence and freedom compared with many other countries. Bhutanese women have never been oppresses but have always been free and open.”

Note: This was an editorial written in 2008 for a publication called QMAR (Quarterly Morbidity and Activity Report) in Health Ministry.