1 July 2006- Following complaints from the general public, and women in particular, the National Commission for Women and Children (NCWC) has submitted a petition to the Speaker of the National Assembly and the government to remove a derogatory phrase from an Assembly resolution.
The petition objected to the use of the phrase “Amsu morem nomed chen”, which literally translate as “unmarried, stupid woman”, in a report submitted by the Public Accounts Committee. The phrase had been used in the report to describe allegedly poor quality work done by the government.
Angry Bhutanese women described the use of the phrase as 'derogatory' and 'demeaning' for women and called for the immediate removal of the phrase from the report. The women also appealed to the National Assembly and its members to be more gender sensitive and to refrain from using such languages in future.
“The phrase carries a derogatory connotation which is disgusting,” said Karma, a senior civil servant, who is also a social activist. “We don't see any reason why it has to be used to describe poor quality work, when the same could be achieved by some other means.”
“It is understandable if the concern is an illiterate person, but coming from the members of the Assembly it is not acceptable,” said Pelden, a 26-year-old entrepreneur.
A senior civil servant pointed out that even the draft Constitution had provisions for gender equality.
Supporting the complaint, women chimis said that the use of the phrase was unwarranted and changes had be made immediately. “We would have raised the issue but did not get the opportunity to do so,” said one of the chimis.
However, some old Bhutanese pointed out that the use of the phrase was an age-old practice, commonly used to describe someone as being 'weak and stupid'.
The executive director of the commission, Dr. Rinchen Chophhel, told Kuensel that the submission had been received positively by both arms of the government with assurance that they would look into the matter.
He said that, as a Commission, mandated by the government to protect rights of women and children, NCWC would leave no stone unturned to solve the issue. “We hope the responsible body will immediately act upon it and rectify the phrase,” he said.
The response from the public had been overwhelming, according to Dr. Rinchen Chophhel. Women as well as men, he said, expressed strong objection and had appealed to the Commission to take up the issue.
Signatory to CEDAW (Convention on Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women) Bhutan had always taken pride to be a country with little or no discrimination against women, said the executive director. “The tradition, culture, and stereotype statements that exist in our society which are harmful to women's rights should be ironed out,” he said.
By Karma Choden
kchoden@kuensel.com.bt
