Report for the Launch of Bhutan Women Parliamentary Caucus

REPORT THE LAUNCH OF BHUTAN WOMEN PARLIAMENTARY CAUCUS A joint initiative for gender equality by BNEW & NCWC & STAKEHOLDER CONSULTATION WORKSHOP 14th August 2019

Stakeholder Consultation Workshop & Stakeholder Consultation Workshop & the Launch of Bhutan Women Parliamentary Caucus (BWPC) the Launch of Bhutan Women Parliamentary Caucus (BWPC) 1 Stakeholder Consultation Workshop & 2 the Launch of Bhutan Women Parliamentary Caucus (BWPC) REPORT THE LAUNCH OF BHUTAN WOMEN PARLIAMENTARY CAUCUS A joint initiative for gender equality by BNEW & NCWC & STAKEHOLDER CONSULTATION WORKSHOP 14th August 2019

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PART I: LAUNCH OF BHUTAN WOMEN PARLIAMENTARY CAUCUS 1

WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION TO BWPC BY BNEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 1

OPENING REMARKS BY HONORABLE LYONPO DECHEN WANGMO, MINISTER FOR

HEALTH AND VICE CHAIRPERSON OF NCWC AND THE CHAIR OF THE BWPC 5

SHINING THE TORCH ON BWPC: GUIDING REMARKS BY LYONPO DR. TANDI DORJI,

HONORABLE CHAIRPERSON OF NCWC 7

BRIEF REFLECTIONS BY VICE CHAIRPERSON, BHUTAN WOMEN PARLIAMENTARY

CAUCUS 11

WORDS OF WISDOM TO INSPIRE, ENCOURAGE & GUIDE BWPC BY SOME OF THE

ESTEEMED GUESTS 13

VOTE OF THANKS BY NCWC DIRECTOR 19

PART II: MULTI-STAKEHOLDER CONSULTATION WORKSHOP 21

OPENING REMARKS BY NCWC DIRECTOR 21

INTRODUCTION TO BWPC BY BNEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 23

PRESENTATION ON BWPC BY VICE CHAIRPERSON 29

REACTIONS, COMMENTS AND DISCUSSIONS BY THE STAKEHOLDERS 33

ANNEXURE 35

Group Work: From Vision to Action 35

Appendix: Summary of Group Presentation 43

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WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION TO BWPC BY BNEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

The Executive Director of BNEW Phuntshok Chhoden welcomed the Honorable Chief Guest Lyonpo Dr. Tandi Dorji, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Chairperson of NCWC, other guests and participants to the launch of the Bhutan Women Parliamentary Caucus (BWPC), a first-of-its-kind initiative jointly established by Bhutan Network for Empowering Women (BNEW) and National Commission for Women and Children (NCWC). She said that the BWPC was established to advance the gender agenda with greater vigor in line with the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) No.5 to achieve Planet 50-50 by 2030 and the National Key Results Areas (NKRA) 10 of the 12th Five Year Plan (FYP) to empower women and girls.

The Executive Director stated that for Bhutan, the participants of the 2nd National Conference on Women in Politics held in March 2017 took the liberty of contextualizing the SDG goal by tapering it down to ‘Planet 40-60’ in the Thimphu Declaration. Given the low baseline of women’s participation and representation in every sphere, t 40-60 would be a more reasonable target for Bhutan.

She highlighted the current situation of women in politics, leadership and governance: 15:85% in the Parliament; 12:88% in the LGs; 10:90% in the Cabinet; 0:100% at Government Secretary level; 5:95% in case of Dzongdags; 19:81% in the Judiciary; and the highest of 35:65% in Constitutional Posts, thanks to His Majesty the King’s farsighted and benevolent leadership.

The Executive Director said that at the current pace, it is doubtful to achieve Planet 40:60, let alone 50:50. With a little over 10 years left to achieve the target, unless suitable Temporary Special Measures (TSM) are put in place that can expedite the process of enhancing women’s representation, it will be challenging for Bhutan to achieve the target even after 50 years. She said that political will to create enabling policy

Stakeholder Consultation Workshop & Stakeholder Consultation Workshop & the Launch of Bhutan Women Parliamentary Caucus (BWPC) the Launch of Bhutan Women Parliamentary Caucus (BWPC) 1 and legal environment continues to be expressed and committed time and again. In fact, many small steps such as setting up crèches, childcare facilities, separate toilets for women etc. have been initiated, including bigger ones like granting of six-month paid maternity leave. However, in the absence of targeted TSM to directly address the issues of women representation, all the other interventions and related investments are not delivering the outcome at a pace it is desired and needed.

The Executive Director said Bhutan is highly egalitarian with no overt forms of gender discrimination, and is faring well in many social indicators like health and education. But Bhutan’s global and regional rankings are affected by the lack of progress in the sphere of political empowerment of women. She informed the participants that in South Asia, Bhutan has been at the bottom of the rung for many years. Globally too, Bhutan hasn’t been doing any better. The Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU) has ranked Bhutan 136th out of 193 countries in 2019. The latest Global Gender Gap report by the World Economic Forum placed Bhutan at 138 out of 149 countries.

The Executive Director said that women are deeply entangled and burdened by the triple gender roles and are traditionally socialized to believe that leadership and politics are better left to men. The public space is still a new and strange arena where women are still figuring out the rules of the game and learning to navigate and be acknowledged as equals with the men.

She said that the BWPC is a special and unique Caucus, unlike many other Caucuses in the world, since it is inclusive, non-partisan, apolitical, multi-stakeholder forum, with broad representation and voices of civil society, media, academia, private/corporate sector, among others. Through the Caucus, women parliamentarians can regularly interact and be better informed about a wide range of societal concerns and issues to represent everyone adequately. Moreover, the BWPC will prioritize capacity building to enhance their knowledge, skills, confidence and performance. In return, this will influence and transform the existing patriarchal mindsets and attitude in society that hesitate (and often deny and refuse) to accept, endorse, support, acknowledge women leadership at par with the men. As the BWPC members learn the value of coming and being together, nurturing, grooming and supporting each other as women, the space will grow and expand leading to a multiplication of women leader role models, and hopefully boost and match the demand for strong women candidates by the political parties too.

The Executive Director stated that associate or honorary male members would be invited from time to time to enrich the BWPC dialogues, deepen understanding, and strengthen relationships to work together for gender equality as gender issues are societal issues, and not just women’s issues.

She said that BWPC is a semi-formal forum of like-minded women from all walks of life that will ensure that women representatives in the Parliament express the collective views and concerns as one voice and not just their own individual viewpoints. She said that the 11

Stakeholder Consultation Workshop & 2 the Launch of Bhutan Women Parliamentary Caucus (BWPC) women parliamentarians, a mere 15% of them, carry the moral burden of representing 50% of the population.

The Executive Director said that BNEW and NCWC have been working together or separately, building on the past works, mindful of international and national goals and commitments to take the agenda forward. BWPC signifies the spirit of partnership enshrined in the Memorandum of Understanding signed by NCWC and BNEW in March 2017 to work for gender equality with a focus on women’s political participation. It also provides the necessary framework for NCWC and BNEW to implement the National Plan of Action for Gender Equality in Elected Offices (NPAPGEEO) together. She said that it is one of many such means and vehicles to deliver the work in the spirit of the 12th FYP’s Triple ‘C’ concept (Coordination, Consolidation & Collaboration) that too involving a government agency and a civil society organization – aligned to achieve SDG Goal 5 and NKRA 10 in particular.

In conclusion, she expressed her gratitude to the Honorable Chief Guest for taking time to launch and formally flag off Bhutan Women Parliamentary Caucus. She said that given the role as the Chair of NCWC, the Honorable Chief Guest’s presence at the launch reconfirms the genuine concern and willingness to understand and engage to take BWPC forward as a joint mechanism to facilitate and achieve gender equality in Bhutan.

Stakeholder Consultation Workshop & Stakeholder Consultation Workshop & the Launch of Bhutan Women Parliamentary Caucus (BWPC) the Launch of Bhutan Women Parliamentary Caucus (BWPC) 3 Stakeholder Consultation Workshop & 4 the Launch of Bhutan Women Parliamentary Caucus (BWPC) OPENING REMARKS BY HONORABLE LYONPO DECHEN WANGMO, MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND VICE CHAIRPERSON OF NCWC AND THE CHAIR OF THE BWPC

Her Excellency Lyonpo Dechen Wangmo, Minister for Health and Vice Chairperson of NCWC, welcomed the Chief Guest and all other guests to the launch of BWPC and expressed her delight to share a few thoughts on women in politics and leadership.

Lyonpo Dechen Wangmo said that although there is a reason to rejoice for achieving the highest number of female representation in the third parliamentary election, there is still a long way to go. Lyonpo said that the voices of Bhutanese women are not adequately represented in the decision-making bodies, be it in the Parliament, in the government, in the private sector, or in every sphere of development.

Lyonpo shared her thoughts on 3Es - Enable, Encourage and Empower - to strengthen good governance, which is one of the key domains of the development philosophy of Gross National Happiness.

On the first E – Enable, Lyonpo Dechen Wangmo expressed her gratitude to NCWC for creating enabling environment for Bhutanese women to grow. NCWC has spearheaded legislation and gender mainstreaming policies, establishing crèches for working women and planning and designing interventions to promote gender equality in line with the NKRA 10 of 12th FYP.

On the second E - Encourage, Lyonpo commended the work of BNEW, a civil society organization established with the mission to serve as a non-partisan networking platform that promotes, facilitates support to women leadership for the achievement of substantive gender equality in Bhutan. Lyonpo said that since its inception in 2002, BNEW has worked tirelessly across wide sectors of the society to encourage women to participate in governance and in decision- making. Lyonpo acknowledged that today BNEW has touched

Stakeholder Consultation Workshop & Stakeholder Consultation Workshop & the Launch of Bhutan Women Parliamentary Caucus (BWPC) the Launch of Bhutan Women Parliamentary Caucus (BWPC) 5 many lives, motivated many young and old to realize their dreams of serving the Tsa-Wa-Sum through its network in all the 205 gewogs.

Speaking on the last E – Empower, Lyonpo Dechen Wangmo said that NCWC and BNEW have come together to build a first-of-its-kind initiative called the Bhutan Women Parliamentary Caucus to empower women, to enable women to make informed decisions and to increase representation at the highest level.

Lyonpo said that BWPC represents a platform to strengthen women in leadership by bringing together women in politics, civil service, judiciary CSOs, private sectors and media at the national level. Lyonpo said that this platform would facilitate regular dialogues on issues of national interest that have implications to a wider section of the society. BWPC will bring members together on regular basis to raise awareness and to advocate for more comprehensive, inclusive and enabling environment to achieve gender equality and women’s empowerment in Bhutan.

In conclusion, Lyonpo expressed her hope that all collaborating partners, both national and international, will render their full support and guidance to BWPC to enhance the voice and visibility of women in politics, governance and leadership.

Stakeholder Consultation Workshop & 6 the Launch of Bhutan Women Parliamentary Caucus (BWPC) SHINING THE TORCH ON BWPC: GUIDING REMARKS BY LYONPO DR. TANDI DORJI, HONORABLE CHAIRPERSON OF NCWC

The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Chairperson of NCWC, Lyonpo Dr. Tandi Dorji, said that the Caucus is an initiative in response to the call made by more than 200 participants at the 3rd National Conference on Women in Politics, Governance and Leadership, held in November in 2018, where he had the opportunity to participate. Lyonpo highlighted that as a joint initiative by NCWC and BNEW, the Caucus demonstrated the strong bond between the government and the CSO sector to take an important agenda forward.

Honorable Lyonpo reminded everyone about the provisions of the sacred Constitution, drawing attention to Article 7 and 9 that mandates the state to uphold not only the fundamental rights but also to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women. Lyonpo said that Bhutan has important commitments to international conventions, and therefore, a platform like BWPC provides the opportunity to engage in positive dialogue with a cross section of the society on gender issues. It can facilitate and help women’s participation and provide greater role for leadership and politics.

Lyonpo said that historically, Bhutanese people have taken pride on the role of women both in the family and in the community. Even today women all over the country play an important role not only in the family but also in zomdus (community meetings). Women always outnumber men in zomdus. However, when it comes to participating in elections, the number of women holding leadership positions has been small. Lyonpo said that definitely there has been an improvement over the last few years, particularly in the local government elections in 2016 and the 2018 parliamentary elections. Lyonpo also reiterated the statistics on women representations in politics and expressed hope that this number will increase in the coming years. Comparing Bhutan’s status with regional and global trends, Lyonpo said that

However, Lyonpo reminded that Bhutan is a young democracy and expressed his optimism that the number would definitely increase over time. Lyonpo cited that when the European Union conducted its first election in 1979, the number of women in the European Parliament was 16.6%, close to what Bhutan has right now. It increased to 39% in 2019 up from 36% in 2014. There has been a steady increase in the percentage of women in the European Parliament and Lyonpo hoped that Bhutan would also follow the same track.

Lyonpo said that there are a few countries in the world where women outnumber men in parliament, Rwanda has 61% women in parliament while Cuba has 53.2% and Bolivia 53.1%. Lyonpo noted that these numbers have been achieved because of the policies and measures such as quota system and reservation for women in parliament. Even in Nordic countries, the numbers are now in excess of 40%. Lyonpo said that in Bhutan, although there is recognition of the significance of women representation, for many brave women who have taken the steps and participated in elections, they face huge difficulties and challenges. These difficulties and challenges are more or less the same all over the world. Lyonpo highlighted some of the challenges such as higher standards set for women; women having to shoulder the family responsibilities; the perception that women are less experienced to take up leadership positions; and many see women as not being tough enough especially when it comes to politics. Additionally, there is lack of institutional support such as security during travel, restrooms or childcare facilities, and most importantly, women colleagues have the fear of being physically violated or verbally abused. With such environment it is more difficult for women to contest.

Lyonpo shared the example of how our traditional norms inhibit women to participate in gup elections in Punakha. During the Punakha Dromchoe and Tshechu, the gup has to wear the robes of a monk for three days and he has to lead the Pazaps and enter the Goengkhang of the Dzong. Lyonpo said that the question the voters always ask is: how can a woman take up the position of gup especially in Wang-Chhoetse Gyap (The eight traditional gewogs of Punakha) because it would be impossible for a woman to fulfill such traditional roles. Lyonpo said that even candidates who contest the gup election, especially men, fully exploit this particular tradition to undermine women contestants. Because of such discrimination Lyonpo said that there has been only one woman who contested the gup elections in Punakha and she never made it through. However, in 2018 this norm was challenged when the lady Mangmi of Chang Gewog, Sonam Zangmo, had to bear the responsibility of the gup who was suspended during the Punakha Dromchoe and with that Lyonpo said the path was paved for women to contest in future gup elections.

Lyonpo quoted what BNEW had written that time: “We’re so glad a cultural stereotype has finally been shattered. It is a myth that women in local governments cannot participate in Punakha Dromchoe.”

Lyonpo explained that there are subtle and complex prejudices and biases that exist knowingly

Stakeholder Consultation Workshop & 8 the Launch of Bhutan Women Parliamentary Caucus (BWPC) and unknowingly. Given such context in Bhutan, it is timely that Bhutan Women Parliamentary Caucus has been established. Lyonpo expressed his confidence that BWPC will act as a visible and inclusive platform for women politicians, aspirants and supporters at the national level to further the goal of gender equality in elected offices and help women succeed politically and beyond, thus multiplying women role models in the society.

Lyonpo said that the members of the Caucus would join hands irrespective of their political affiliations and positions to raise awareness and advocate for a more comprehensive enabling environment to truly achieve gender equality in Bhutan.

On behalf of the government Lyonpo said that it is committed to ensuring that gender equality is achieved within the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly goal No. 5 and NKRA 10 in the 12th FYP. Lyonpo said that the government would spare no effort to review, harmonize and mainstream gender into laws, policies, plans and programs across all sectors.

Lyonpo said that His Majesty the King has been constantly inspiring us to pursue equality in our thoughts and actions. His Majesty has appointed a number of female eminent members to the National Council, the constitutional bodies, as Dzongdas, as ambassadors. Not only that, His Majesty conferring the Goentag on women in high level positions is culturally significant as a way to transform the societal mindset, attitudes and perceptions about women in leadership. Lyonpo highlighted that such innovative initiatives from the Golden Throne are not only unprecedented but also paves the path for removing myth-based barriers for women’s participation and representation in leadership.

Stakeholder Consultation Workshop & Stakeholder Consultation Workshop & the Launch of Bhutan Women Parliamentary Caucus (BWPC) the Launch of Bhutan Women Parliamentary Caucus (BWPC) 9 Stakeholder Consultation Workshop & 10 the Launch of Bhutan Women Parliamentary Caucus (BWPC) BRIEF REFLECTIONS BY VICE CHAIRPERSON, BHUTAN WOMEN PARLIAMENTARY CAUCUS

The Vice Chairperson of BWPC, Honorable Member of Parliament Tshering Choden, shared the outcomes of the first Core Working Group held on 12th August, leading up to the stakeholder consultation workshop and the launch of BWPC. She also echoed the numerous challenges women face while participating in politics and to take up leadership positions. She acknowledged that it is a timely initiative by BNEW and NCWC to establish BWPC to bring all women leaders together, including aspiring women leaders, to inspire, discuss and support women in leadership positions.

She also highlighted that women’s representation in Parliament and said that although women’s representation in the Parliament has increased in 2018, it is not a guarantee that the number will increase in the next election. She pointed out that in reality the number of women coming forward to participate in politics has reduced.

She pointed out that the Caucus would empower and groom women parliamentarians to speak as one voice while deliberating and discussing important issues related to women and gender in the Parliament. The platform will help in building consensus and unity amongst the parliamentarians, as one of the main objectives of BWPC is to build unity so that women parliamentarians, irrespective of which party they belong to, would speak in one non-partisan voice. As the Chair of the Women Children and Youth Committee (WCYC) she is confident that she can draw support from the Caucus in addressing issues related to women and children in her committee’s work. She sees the benefit of the BWPC as a channel for dialogue between parliamentarians and other women champions to deliberate on social and gender issues. She said that there are many issues that are not voiced out and BWPC will be a platform where unheard voices will be heard and where women will discuss and help each other to achieve

Stakeholder Consultation Workshop & Stakeholder Consultation Workshop & the Launch of Bhutan Women Parliamentary Caucus (BWPC) the Launch of Bhutan Women Parliamentary Caucus (BWPC) 11 gender equality and empower women for leadership positions. More importantly, BWPC will support and work towards capacity building to nurture potential and aspiring future leaders, not just women parliamentarians. In addition, she said that BWPC would engage with male parliamentarians and experts to map knowledge and skills within the Caucus. She concluded by urging fellow women parliamentarians to be committed to the Caucus, encouraging all men and women members of the Caucus to walk this journey with the Caucus for the success of the initiative.

Stakeholder Consultation Workshop & 12 the Launch of Bhutan Women Parliamentary Caucus (BWPC) WORDS OF WISDOM TO INSPIRE, ENCOURAGE & GUIDE BWPC BY SOME OF THE ESTEEMED GUESTS

Dasho Deki Pema, Commissioner, Election Commission of Bhutan

“Dam Pa Sum, the three Noble Principles. My teachers and those of you who have attended dharma sessions would remember that our teachers always stress on these three noble principles because they make the difference; they make the difference between your practice being just for temporary relief, for clearing obstacles or indeed to become the powerful cause for enlightenment of yourself and for others. So the three basic noble principles are: good in the beginning, good in the middle and good in the end. In the beginning we have the intent, in the middle is the proper practice doing it mindfully, in a mindful manner, and the third is dedication.

I believe that these three principles are of relevance to this forum, which seeks to support the participation of women in elections and indeed for any anybody who wishes to contest elections. Good in the beginning would be the noble intent of serving the nation and the people and thorough preparation, which is based on the deep knowledge of the past, sound analysis of the present and the vision for the future. Good in the middle would be to engage in elections lawfully and also charismatically, with clarity of thought, with conviction, with purpose and with dignity. Good in the end would be, after the polls, to accept the results, in case of electoral success to accept with humility and reverence for the mandate that has been bestowed on you and with respect for the voters who have bestowed that mandate on you. And should the electoral results be otherwise, to accept it with grace and dignity, and never losing sight of the intent with which you started on the journey and of course bracing yourself for the long haul because public office and public service is a life time commitment. It doesn’t end or start with one election.”

“I only have three points that I wish to briefly touch on. The first one is, I want to remind everybody of an important document that came out back in March titled ‘Ten Years of Democracy in Bhutan’. There is a section on gender in the report and it echoes some of the specific points that were made by BNEW Executive Director Phuntshok Chhoden and also some of the points hinted at by Lyonpo Tandi Dorji. And I quote, “Consider special measures such as quotas to increase the share of women in parliament” and then it goes on to “call on the media to help disrupt discriminatory stereotypes and mindsets, and to promote women’s greater participation in politics, leadership and governance. As I have been listening to the proceedings and the outcomes of the last few days, it seems to me that many of these ideas are already being incorporated into the very DNA of this Caucus. My commendations to you!

My second point is, His Majesty speaks about Bhutanese people being SMART – ‘A’ standing for ‘Astute’. From my understanding, gender equality is all about building self-reliance because then we have real deep roots in democracy. So for me, as Lyonpo Tandi was talking about building an enabling environment, he was also speaking about building self-reliance, with a special focus on gender equality. It seems to me it to be at the heart of Astuteness.

My third point is, and again I am building on the previous speakers, I want to commend the emphasis in this Caucus on cross party working together in this Caucus, as one of the previous speakers said working to build one voice. Again, for me, this is right at the heart of Astuteness.

Finally, let me not only commend NCWC and BNEW for the work but also make commitment from the international development partners including various entities within the United Nations. We will do our utmost to support the work of this Caucus.”

5.3 Chador Wangmo, member of BNEW

“I would like to share a few challenges that I experienced during 2018 elections. As an aspiring politician, I registered with the Election Commission of Bhutan but after the registration, I did not know what to do next. I had only three voters from my family – my mother,

Stakeholder Consultation Workshop & 14 the Launch of Bhutan Women Parliamentary Caucus (BWPC) brother and I. That was of course not going to be enough. I had zero knowledge about politics. So I went to the National Council and met some of my role models. They suggested that I should visit NCWC and collect a few gender related issues. I met Aum Kunzang and she generously helped me with information and some reports. At that time, I did not know that BNEW existed. Aum Kunzang referred me to Aum Phuntshok, and that’s when I got introduced to BNEW. Aum Phuntshok was very supportive. I consider her as my godmother. At that time, my self-esteem was at its lowest. I was not confident. BNEW provided a lot of capacity building programs, and today I am who I am, thanks to BNEW and NCWC.

In the National Council election, I didn’t get elected from my own gewog. But Aum Phuntshok saw something in me and she wanted me to join politics. Actually, I was allergic to politics. I didn’t want to be a politician. I wanted to join National Council because it is apolitical. Aum Phuntshok encouraged me to join a political party and luckily I got a ticket from Bhutan Kuen-nyam Party. Thanks to the party ticket, people came to know me. And now I am really motivated and I am still aspiring and I will keep on contesting every election in the future. This has all been possible because of BNEW and NCWC.”

Lyonpo Tashi Dorji, Honorable Chairperson of National Council

“I am always hesitant whenever I participate in forums that promote women empowerment. I say this because I contested against a highly capable female candidate, who had represented Wangdue Dzongkhag in the National Council from 2008 to 2013. That said, I contested the 2016 elections because of my interest and not really because I do not support women empowerment.

If we look at the current scenario, it is not about whether women have the potential. As His Majesty has always said that it is not a matter of whether women are capable or not; it is a matter of whether they participate or not. We need not look far for examples. During the second government’s term, one of the major pledges was to blacktop all the gewog center roads. From the 10 ministries, the responsibility was bestowed on none other than Lyonpo Dorji Choden who is among us today. That is an indication of immense trust on her leadership. Similarly, the current government’s primary pledge is in the health sector, and the responsibility has been bestowed upon Lyonpo Dechen Wangmo. This is an indication of the immense admiration and support for her leadership.”

“I would like to look back a little bit because sometimes we forget the good things that we have done and focus only on things that are not done. When I joined the civil service in the mid 1980s, it was a time of UN Decade for Women. Bhutan was an active participant in this decade. In one decade, so many things happened. That was also the time when the National Women’s Association of Bhutan (NWAB) was born. When I joined the civil service, I also got so many opportunities to represent at the regional level, at the national level, on issues related to women.

One of the key factors that really made a difference to the lives of women is education. From the time Bhutan launched the planned development in the 1960s, our visionary leaders knew that education is going to be the key equalizer - equalizing rich and poor, equalizing men and women. Education has played an important role.

In the 1980s and the 1990s, there was so much focus on women’s participation. I was working with Rural Water Supply and Sanitation and we did so much to get women on board in the meetings. We wanted women to plan the water supply schemes and train women on operation and maintenance because water supply is basic to improving living conditions. We did a lot of campaigns to encourage women to come forward. The result was, in many meetings, so many women came forward. But the question is how effectively did women contribute to the decisions in the process of the meeting? Women were passive recipients of the programs and plans.

In the 2000s, the focus was on empowerment - social and economic empowerment of women. We were looking at national laws; were they neutral? We needed gender sensitive laws. The general budgeting was not good enough so we looked at responsive budgeting. We looked at the laws, whether it is fair to both male and female; whether they were responsive to the needs, especially the needs of the women. So much has happened in terms of improving the laws, amending the laws, rules and regulations, and in terms of creating an enabling environment.

Now with good education and qualification, more and more women have increasingly started to work, going beyond family and domestic care. We also initiated the crèche centers because many educated women resigned because they did not have anyone to look after their

Stakeholder Consultation Workshop & 16 the Launch of Bhutan Women Parliamentary Caucus (BWPC) babies. Today, we also have NGOs and civil society organizations to support women, championing against domestic violence and rape. These are all social ills that inhibit the progression of women.

In the area of economic empowerment, many self-help groups have been formed. We have vegetable groups and women’s groups. Economic empowerment is important for women to take charge of things, to be independent on their own, so that they do not have to depend on others. All these have happened and we have come a long way. And today, as we launch Bhutan Women Parliamentary Caucus, we are making another big step forward in empowering women politically to take leadership in governance.

We are now moving a step forward and trying to find ways and means to, as Lyonpo Dechen Wangmo mentioned, encourage, empower and enable women, to support aspiring women politicians and leaders. But there are many inhibiting elements and barriers to women’s progression like social ills that affect mostly women - domestic violence, rape, sexual harassment, teenage pregnancy and many other reproductive health related issues. These are some things that that we need to address.

One of the challenges, as we have discussed in many forums, is the mindset. We have to change the mindset but it does not happen overnight. It can happen only with a lot of awareness campaigns. It requires time. And to change the mindset, where do we begin? It starts with us, individuals. Who sets these norms and stereotypes? Maybe it starts with the family, the mother or the father. And mostly it is the mother who sets the norms for a young girl and boy. Normally it is the mother who says to a girl child that she cannot do this or that because she is a girl. While we let the boys go out and play, we ask girls to help with household chores like sweeping and washing clothes. I think we have to start with ourselves.

The other important challenge is to create a supportive environment. How do we help women to be safe while they travel? How do we help women with a young child? How do we help women to be confident? There are so many things that we need to do in terms of creating that conducive environment. To change mindset, let us all start from ourselves. Pursuing gender equality is not about making women exactly like men. What we are trying to say is that women’s potential must be recognized, respected and supported, so that women are equal partners with men. Gender equality is not only about women’s issues; it’s about social justice.”

The Director of NCWC, Kunzang Lhamu, proposed the vote of thanks. She reiterated that Bhutan Women Parliamentary Caucus as a joint initiative of BNEW and the NCWC has been established mainly to promote gender equality in the country. She said that women in Bhutan face far greater challenges to participate in leadership positions and in elections on an equal footing with men. This approach is a new strategy towards enhancing women’s representation, rather than opting for quota or reserve seats, to create an enabling environment for women to equally take part in politics and leadership. The Director said that the Caucus is a platform to strengthen women in leadership by bringing together women in politics, civil service, judiciary, CSOs, private and corporate sectors, media and women from all walks of life. This will ensure that the goal of gender equality and leadership in elected office is achieved in keeping with the 12th Five Year Plan’s NKRA 10 and SDG Goal 5.

She said that there is still a long way to go and the Caucus will at least provide that platform for women to come together, express and share and learn from each other, and also support each other for leadership roles. The Caucus will facilitate regular dialogue between women leaders and stakeholders from all walks of life and society, bringing up burning issues and interests of women, and also work towards incorporating gender issues in the work of the Parliament and the government.

She thanked the Chief Guest Honorable Minister for Foreign Affairs and Chair of NCWC for the inspirational remarks, reaffirmation of the government’s commitment and support towards furthering the cause of gender equality. Lyonpo has always been a strong supporter of gender equality and women’s empowerment agenda and a role model for other men to support the cause. She also thanked all the

Stakeholder Consultation Workshop & Stakeholder Consultation Workshop & the Launch of Bhutan Women Parliamentary Caucus (BWPC) the Launch of Bhutan Women Parliamentary Caucus (BWPC) 19 core committee members of the Caucus, the chairperson and the vice chairpersons who were engaged in the preliminary meetings leading up to the launch. She said that the committee thrashed out the mission, the structure, and the roles and functions of the Caucus, including the future plans and the way forward. The stakeholder consultation further reviewed and refined on what the core committee had done earlier. In closing, the Director urged all the individuals present to support and commit towards Bhutan Women Parliamentary Caucus.

Stakeholder Consultation Workshop & 20 the Launch of Bhutan Women Parliamentary Caucus (BWPC) PART II: MULTI-STAKEHOLDER CONSULTATION WORKSHOP

The launch event was preceded by a multi-stakeholder consultation workshop to deliberate and vet the work done by the core members of the BWPC on its vision, mission, structure and the functions of the Caucus. The participants comprised women parliamentarians, women outside the parliament (former parliamentarians and women who contested elections), representatives of relevant CSOs, media and other women champions and professionals.

OPENING REMARKS BY NCWC DIRECTOR

The Director of NCWC, Kunzang Lhamu, welcomed the participants to the preliminary consultation workshop. She said that gender equality principles are complementary to the principles of good governance, which include equity, inclusiveness, accountability, responsiveness and participation. In terms of women’s political participation, the Constitution provides the right to vote and participate in any lawful profession as a fundamental right for every Bhutanese citizen. However, she said that women’s representation in Parliament has not been very encouraging and cited the statistics on the women’s representation as an outcome of the three elections and two local government elections. The fact that the overall women’s representation is still very poor, reaching a critical mass of 33 % still remains a distant dream.

The Director said that temporary special measures (TSM) have featured as a crucial recommendation from the CEDAW Expert Committee in the aftermath of all the periodic report presentations. The possibilities of TSM were discussed at length, at various levels since 2013, leading up to the development of the National Plan of Action to Promote Gender Equality in Elected Office (NPAPGEO). She said that in the current scenario, temporary special measures in the form of quota or reserve seats are highly unlikely.

The NCWC Director stated that Bhutan is in need of women role

Stakeholder Consultation Workshop & Stakeholder Consultation Workshop & the Launch of Bhutan Women Parliamentary Caucus (BWPC) the Launch of Bhutan Women Parliamentary Caucus (BWPC) 21 models at leadership and decision-making levels to break through socio-cultural perceptions and stereotypes, attitudes, and mindsets. She emphasized that creating enabling environment and level playing field through equity measures is the most effective way of addressing gender inequalities in governance, leadership and politics. She drew attention to one of the outcomes of the 3rd National Conference on Governance, Leadership and Politics held in November 2018, which proposed to set up a platform that would bring women leaders from all walks of life together, to network, learn, share experiences and support each other in furthering their aspirations and goals. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was also signed between BNEW and NCWC to work together on achieving gender equality in elected office.

The NCWC Director said that an informal WhatsApp group called ‘Women in Partnership’ was formed to raise their voices during National Assembly Discussions on the Penal Code of Bhutan, which didn’t gain much momentum. Besides these few interventions, there has never been a network like BWPC. She said that BWPC is envisaged to guide and shape the strategies and interventions of both organizations - BNEW and NCWC and strengthen collaboration and support towards women on issues related to governance, leadership and politics. BWPC will form a visible and inclusive platform for women political actors, aspirants and supporters to help and support women in succeeding in all spheres of life. It will also provide an informal, yet safe space for women to share information and discuss on key issues. The main aim of BWPC is to create a strong network of Bhutanese women who are in leadership roles and to create role models to gain the trust and confidence of the society in women leadership.

The Director said that some of the key objectives of the stakeholder consultation workshop are to achieve common understanding on the Caucus; to build on the work done in the past and also the preliminary work done by the core working group; to further develop and shape the structure and workings of the Caucus; to improve its relevance and effectiveness; and to prioritize issues and develop a strategic plan for BWPC.

Stakeholder Consultation Workshop & 22 the Launch of Bhutan Women Parliamentary Caucus (BWPC) INTRODUCTION TO BWPC BY BNEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

The Director of BNEW, Phuntshok Chhoden reiterated that BWPC is a joint initiative for gender equality and a first-of-its-kind initiative in the country. She highlighted the underlining reasons for establishing the Caucus. Many studies conducted by NCWC, Election Commission of Bhutan and other agencies have pointed out that despite being very competent in many ways, Bhutanese women do face far more challenges when it comes to participation in elections, be it in local or parliamentary elections. She pointed out that there are many subtle and sometimes blatant challenges that women face, and these challenges apply to women in leadership, be it in the civil service, private sector or any organization. Women in leadership position are still a minority and they face numerous challenges on a day-to-day basis.

She said that gender biases, stereotypes, norms and attitudes, and the mindset in the society are deeply entrenched. And such biases promote the belief that leadership position or public space is for men while women’s place is confined to the walls of the home. The moment women step out, all these biases play out and work against them. That basically results in the domain of politics and leadership being largely left to men. She said that it is not only men who guard patriarchal norms and values but also women themselves uphold patriarchal norms in the family. Such deeply entrenched biases are the reasons why the number of women contesting in elections is gradually seeing a downward trend.

Phuntshok Chhoden said that more number of women participated in the 2008 elections when democracy was first introduced because women thought democracy as an equalizer that provides equal, inclusive space for both men and women. However, the number of women participating in election has consistently gone down. Women

She pointed out that Bhutan has egalitarian gender norms and the situation is much better than many neighboring countries and beyond. However, ‘women in parliament’ is one area where Bhutan is constantly struggling. In fact, there were more women in the National Assembly pre- democracy because of the enlightened leadership of His Majesty the Fourth King.

The Executive Director said that women representation was the highest at 13.88% in the first parliamentary election, with 10 women in parliament, including two female eminent members in the National Council nominated by His Majesty the King. However, in the 2013 National Council elections, all the four candidates, including one more women candidate, who contested failed to get elected. The number of women elected in the National Council dropped from 25% to 0%. She said that had it not been for His Majesty’s two women nominees, there would be no women in the National Council.

In the 2013 National Assembly elections, four women were elected. She said that the saving grace was that a woman minister was appointed for the first time, breaking the glass ceiling in terms of having a woman minister in the cabinet. In the 2018 parliamentary elections, women representation increased to 15.3%, with much higher success rate compared to previous elections. The local government (LG) elections in 2016 saw more women elected compared to 2011 LG elections.

Phuntshok Chhoden said that the National Assembly elections and LG elections mutually reinforce each other. When there are more women in the Parliament, there are more role models and therefore greater visibility, which slightly changes the societal mindset to be more open to women candidates. She added that BNEW always reminds women in LG to perform better since it not only affects their chances of getting re-elected but also other women who stand for elections, including those contesting the parliamentary elections.

She also gave a brief overview of the statistics and the situation of women in leadership, governance and politics in Bhutan. The constitutional bodies are by the most balanced having crossed the 35% bar, thanks to the gender sensitive appointment of His Majesty the King. The scenario is pretty good in the Judiciary with appointments of female judges in the district courts. In terms of female representation, the Judiciary is next to the constitutional bodies with 18 to 20% women representation. In the cabinet, woman representation is 10% with a female minister in the current government. There are over 32% women in the civil service but the number of women in leadership positions tapers off at the top, with no female secretary, not a single Director General, and only one Dzongdag. The female representation at the Director level has been improving over the years. She reiterated that one of the specific goals of Thimphu Declaration was to improve the percentage of women in leadership position in the civil service, by working towards the target of at least 25% of women in leadership positions in the civil service.

She also highlighted Bhutan’s performance and position in regional and global level, pointing out that ‘women in politics’ indicator was one area where Bhutan has been performing miserably. Even in the days of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), the MDG on gender equality suffered the most while Bhutan did well in other social indicators such as health

Stakeholder Consultation Workshop & 24 the Launch of Bhutan Women Parliamentary Caucus (BWPC) and education. According to the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) data, Bhutan is ranked 138 among 193 countries in terms of women in parliament. The highest so far is 15.3% of women in parliament, which is far below the regional average of 19.6% and the global average of 24.3%. Even in the SAARC region, Bhutan continues to rank in the bottom position. According to the Global Gender Gap Report done by World Economic Forum, Bhutan was ranked 138th out of 149 countries in 2018. Even in the CEDAW reporting, Bhutan has scored low in political empowerment of women. Several recommendations have highlighted that it was high time for Bhutan to put in some temporary special measures.

Although the legislation on quota for women did not come through as pledged by the previous government, NCWC and BNEW have been working together to put in place other instruments to advance women in politics. The ‘Women in politics’ conferences regularly organized in the past years by NCWC and BNEW have raised the need for temporary special measures. A strong recommendation that came out of the last conference in November 2018, where over 300 participants took part, was to come up with some fast track measures.

She said that it was timely to launch Bhutan Women Parliamentary Caucus to act as a vehicle to advance the gender agenda. It is a strategic product of many meetings, discussions, and conferences. Various models around the world were looked at while working on the framework for the Caucus. Bhutan had the chance to come up with a model that is relevant to Bhutan. She said that to conceptualize the Caucus, a brainstorming session with women parliamentarians was conducted. Women parliamentarians not only supported the idea but also felt relieved that NCWC and BNEW were coming up with the Caucus.

She explained that the Caucus is a visible and inclusive platform to bring invisible women to the forefront. It is a platform for women political actors, aspirants and supporters to come together, to network, to dialogue, to provide a safe space where women can share their stories, lessons, and experiences, and inspire each other. The primary aim of the Caucus is to further the goal of gender equality in elected offices and leadership in all spheres.

She added that while the Caucus targets women parliamentarians to build their capacities for them to perform well in the Parliament and for them to become strong advocates within the work of the Parliament, it is also for women outside the parliament. The Caucus is a platform to showcase women leadership and promote the voice and visibility of women and to gain the trust and confidence of the society. She said that the Caucus would ensure that women’s rights, gender equality, child rights and social agenda remain central in the work of the Parliament. BWPC would serve as a platform that unites women in the parliament and also serve as a link that connects the women parliamentarians and women outside the Parliament.

BWPC will also assess the capacity of elected women and plan and provide needs based capacity building for women in parliament. The capacity building programs will also be provided to women who stood in elections and could not get elected, potential female candidates for future elections and women leadership in any other spheres to build leadership capacity of women. This would create more women role models in the society and strengthen the voice and visibility of women.

The Executive Director said that there are formal and informal caucuses and the only difference was that it was labeled as a formal caucus when it comprised women in the parliament alone.

Stakeholder Consultation Workshop & Stakeholder Consultation Workshop & the Launch of Bhutan Women Parliamentary Caucus (BWPC) the Launch of Bhutan Women Parliamentary Caucus (BWPC) 25 She said that they did not come across any parliamentary caucus that has been formed by the Act of parliament and provided with budget. The women’s parliamentary caucuses was therefore an exclusive club of women in parliament that served as a forum for them to come together to share their stories and also try to influence the mainstream business of the parliament through a united voice.

She shared that parliamentary caucuses in Mongolia, the US, Sweden and Finland are informal ones while countries like Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Vietnam, and Nepal have Constitutional Assembly women caucuses that lobby for reservations and proportional representations of women.

She said that there is no one-size-fits-all formula and the idea is to shape something that is relevant to our own context, culture, and political culture. She reiterated that the Bhutanese model would be inclusive with the focus on women in parliament as the icons of voice and visibility of women in general while also catering to leadership outside the parliament. The benefit of having such an inclusive platform is that it will complement the work of NCWC and parliamentary committees and strengthen the gender equality agenda on all fronts. The Caucus will facilitate contact and dialogue, consensus building and scaling up of support to crucial issues between and among women legislators and the public by working across the political spectrum on common gender issues and priorities.

The BNEW Executive Director expressed her hope that the participants at the stakeholder consultation workshop will further help to demystify the value of the Caucus, by spreading the understanding that the Caucus is not only going to focus on women and gender issues but also work on a broad range of issues in the Parliament and add a gender perspective and dimension to all aspects of development in Bhutan. The Caucus will also provide gender mainstreaming in the work and function of the Parliament.

She said that the success of BWPC hinges on many factors. Firstly, it would depend on the commitment of women parliamentarians to work toward the common objectives, by rising above political divisions. Secondly, the Caucus would need the support of civil society, media, and private professionals. And thirdly, it would need the support of men. The BWPC will engage with men at various moments and also have male honorary members to sensitize and engage men to support the Caucus to take the agenda forward. As the way forward, BWPC is planning to conduct orientation training for the working group members of the Caucus toward the end of the year and conduct one more exposure visit for them. Most importantly, the Caucus will conduct a strategic planning exercise for 2020 and beyond. In conclusion, she urged the participants, as ambassadors of BWPC, to help demystify and clarify misgivings and misunderstandings about the Caucus.

Stakeholder Consultation Workshop & 26 the Launch of Bhutan Women Parliamentary Caucus (BWPC) PRESENTATION ON BWPC BY VICE CHAIRPERSON

The Vice Chairperson of BWPC, Honorable Member of Parliament, Tshering Choden, presented the outcomes of the preparatory meeting held on 12th August. She said that the mission of the BWPC is to enhance the voice and visibility of women, to nurture the society, where women leadership is a norm rather than an exception. She said that Bhutan is still a male dominated society and a strong need was felt to create a platform where women’s voices could be heard, where voices of the unheard could be heard, and to increase the visibility of women.

She presented the Vision/Mission and Objectives of the BWPC that was endorsed during the BWPC planning meeting by the core group.

Vision/Mission of the BWPC:

‘To enhance the Visibility and Voice of women to nurture a society where women in leadership is a norm rather than an exception.’

Objectives of the BWPC • To serve as a multi-stakeholder platform that enables women MPs to be strong gender advocates within their parties, Parliament committees and in the Parliament; • To heighten awareness and advocacy and transform mindsets of society to gain trust and confidence in women leadership; • Ensure that agendas on women’s rights, gender equality and child rights remain central in the work of the Parliament; • To facilitate dialogues, forums and exchange to enrich the discourse and discussions around gender equality/equity.

Stakeholder Consultation Workshop & Stakeholder Consultation Workshop & the Launch of Bhutan Women Parliamentary Caucus (BWPC) the Launch of Bhutan Women Parliamentary Caucus (BWPC) 27 Membership of the Caucus The BWPC will comprise of: • Women MPs – core members • Women who contested in past elections • Potential women for future elections • Women professionals/champions • Women leaders of relevant CSOs • And honorary members: male advocates/legislators, media representatives etc.

She emphasized that when it comes to gender equality issues, the backgrounds of the members, whether they are from National Council or National Assembly, was not important. What was more important was to put gender issues in the forefront for discussions. That’s why the nature of the Caucus is apolitical and non-partisan.

Structure & Mechanics: • Format - it will be an informal setup, safe space and inclusive • Nature - Apolitical and nonpartisan • Structure - it will be steered by a Core Working Group (CWG) with Chair & Vice Chair on rotation with BNEW as member secretary • CWG - will comprise of women MPs, women representatives of the political parties not in Parliament, 1/2 women champions, BNEW & NCWC

She said the membership is diverse and inclusive comprising elected women, non-elected women who contested in past election, female professionals, champions from diverse fields, women leaders of relevant CSOs, media personnel, male advocates, and legislators as honorary members from time to time. She said that in the next Caucus meeting, discussions will be held to include men from different backgrounds as honorary members.

Key functions & roles:

• Serve as a safe space to coordinate views, collaborate and share information amongst women MPS and with stakeholders/actors outside the Parliament.

• Build capacity of women MPs - for effectively strengthening the gender and child perspectives in policies, laws, national plans & programs

• Work as a collective entity and speak as one strong voice on issues related to social inclusion, gender equality and child rights

Stakeholder Consultation Workshop & 28 the Launch of Bhutan Women Parliamentary Caucus (BWPC) • Contribute towards the formulation, implementation, review and reporting on legislations, policies, plans and programs related to women and children at the national, regional and international levels.

• Facilitate dialogues/consultations with key stakeholders to promote, advocate for and integrate gender equality and social inclusion concerns/issues

The Vice Chairperson informed the participants that the Core Working Group, during the planning meeting, prioritized capacity building of women parliamentarians in various leadership skills and mobilizing and grooming aspiring potential women candidates for future elections as some of the activities the Caucus could take up. The Caucus is seen as a preparatory platform to groom future leaders. Further, the Caucus will also initiate coaching and mentoring of MPs and potential women candidates, sharing of lessons learnt, planning for campaigns, etc. The Caucus will also conduct mapping of skills and knowledge among the members to ensure availability of expertise for technical backstopping in specific areas, for instance, in legal research and policies. She mentioned that the Caucus would conduct pre and post parliament sessions for preparation and reflection.

The Vice Chairperson highlighted some of challenges and opportunities identified during the planning meeting on 12th August. She said that one of the main challenges is to change the mindset of women to encourage competent women to step out in the public sphere. She said that women voters do not support women candidates because of existing mindset and biases. Another challenge in particular for the Caucus that the Vice Chair mentioned is that for the sustainability of the BWPC it requires the commitment of the members.

In terms of opportunities, she said that the Caucus would provide a platform to share and learn and support peers. It will also provide the opportunities to groom women leaders and build their capacities, confidence and self-esteem, which will positively impact the decision-making process. It also presents opportunities to garner support for gender and social issues, to groom future female leaders and coach and mentor potential women by experienced Caucus members and champions. She said that the Caucus would be able to improve Bhutan’s image in terms of women’s representation in parliament and elected offices and improve ranking in international and regional assessments.

Stakeholder Consultation Workshop & Stakeholder Consultation Workshop & the Launch of Bhutan Women Parliamentary Caucus (BWPC) the Launch of Bhutan Women Parliamentary Caucus (BWPC) 29 Stakeholder Consultation Workshop & 30 the Launch of Bhutan Women Parliamentary Caucus (BWPC) REACTIONS, COMMENTS AND DISCUSSIONS BY THE STAKEHOLDERS

 Members of the Parliament expressed if the term ‘BWPC’ with the inclusion of the word Parliament needs the approval of the Parliament and whether the Honorable Speaker and the Parliament are taken on board while forming the Caucus. To this, BNEW responded that Parliamentary Caucuses around the world are named like that and there is no legal basis or any other reasons for the Parliament to object to it. BNEW assured that the speaker is fully aware of the process followed in forming the Caucus. Moreover, the main purpose of the Caucus is to provide this common platform to bring together women parliamentarians. It draws its legitimacy from the fact that women members of parliament are the members of the Caucuses and are the Core Working Group.

 Although the women parliamentary caucuses seemingly appear formal because of the term ‘parliamentary’ but it is very informal in nature. In other parliamentary caucuses, there is a critical mass of women within the Parliament who feel the need to come together, support each other and share to strengthen the gender agenda within the Parliament. In our case, we are such a small group within the parliament and therefore the need to include women outside the Parliament. The Caucus is expected to provide a vehicle, a framework, and at the core of it are the women parliamentarians.

 Regarding the challenges raised about the sustainability of the Caucus, BNEW informed the participants that it will largely depend on the commitment of its members. NCWC and BNEW intend to facilitate the Caucus for a while, till a time when the Parliament has 20% or 30% women representation and when the Parliament is ready to own the Caucus. In the years to come maybe the Parliament in Bhutan might decide to pass an act to form this Caucus formally with a separate plan and budget outlay for it. However, establishing it as a formal organization also comes at a cost, with the government having to provide budget to implement its strategic plans.

 Participants expressed that it would be important for the BWPC to come up with the strategic plan on how to achieve the broader goals and objectives of the Caucus

Stakeholder Consultation Workshop & Stakeholder Consultation Workshop & the Launch of Bhutan Women Parliamentary Caucus (BWPC) the Launch of Bhutan Women Parliamentary Caucus (BWPC) 31 and also work on building partnership across different sectors. The participants wanted to know what kind of strategic interventions are there to achieve those goals over a period of next five years or in the longer term. To this, BNEW informed the participants that the Core Working Group worked on the strategic plan to map out the bigger picture, with broader as well specific objectives and interventions. In the immediate short term, an orientation and training workshop at the end of the year is being planned and in the future, through various measures and interventions, hopefully the number of women parliamentarians can be multiplied. Also in terms of membership it is inclusive so that women outside the Parliament can work with parliamentarians. The agenda is not only to make women parliamentarians watchdogs within the parliament but also for those outside the parliament to serve as pressure groups in a way to eventually bring about positive change in the society.

 NCWC reiterated its commitment to support the agenda, including research and evidences that are required, and one of the key roles of NCWC is spearheading reforms at the policy level. NCWC urged the parliamentarians who form the core of the group, all the professionals and champions who are there to also help and keep up the commitment and support, so that the Caucus can be sustained in the long run and really make an impact through it.

Stakeholder Consultation Workshop & 32 the Launch of Bhutan Women Parliamentary Caucus (BWPC) ANNEXURE

Group Work: From Vision to Action

The participants were divided into four groups and each group brainstormed to map out the opportunities and challenges and outline immediate actions for BWPC. Each group presented their findings.

Group 1 Presentation

The presenter said that one of the biggest challenges identified by earlier presenters was the mindset of the society. Education plays a huge role in changing the mindset and eradicating gender stereotypes. The group explored the role of education from two different angles.

First, the group looked at the curriculum design. The presenter said that the Ministry of Education and Curriculum Division must do away with contents in curriculum that reinforce gender stereotyping. This would help in changing the mindset. Second, the group recommended educating parents and children from an early age on gender equality. The group also suggested advocacy programs in rural areas for senior citizens and influential individuals to advocate for change. This would help in changing the traditional narratives on gender roles and stereotypes that are passed down from one generation to another.

The group felt that there was a strong need to create conducive environment for working women because many women gave up their careers to become caregivers. The group suggested that BWPC should facilitate spouse support to overcome challenges confronting working women. The group felt that the Caucus should also involve male stakeholders instead of focusing only on women to widen its scope and reach. The group felt that equal representation of male and female parliamentarians in all BWPC forums would encourage male MPs to become advocates for gender equality.

The BNEW director said that there are plans to include men as honorary members in relevant forums and the Caucus would decide the time to bring them onboard. However, she stressed that it was vital to ensure that the forum is a safe and inclusive, informal space for women to be able to share freely and frankly. She declined the proposal to include male stakeholders in every forum since it is critical to safeguard the space, the one space where women can critique each other and learn through constructive criticisms. However, she said that the Caucus would definitely want their involvement and participation at relevant moments. In fact, since gender equality is a much broader issue concerning gender and social justice and not only about addressing women’s issues, the Caucus would reach out to parliamentarians on the whole.

Comment by NCWC Director

The Director of NCWC said that there is wider agreement on the need to change the mindset since it is the biggest challenge in enhancing women’s representation in leadership, governance and politics. However, not many women support the quota and reserve seats for women. That’s why it has become important to put in place equity measures and enabling and conducive environment. She said that firstly it is important to understand and analyze why women are not coming out to take the opportunities that are being provided and what is keeping them back? If it is because of caregiving responsibilities, household works, or the triple burden, there is a need to ease those burdens and create conducive and enabling environment. She said that the focus is on creating enabling environment so that both men and women can access those opportunities.

Comment by BNEW Executive Director

Adding on the issue of the quota, the BNEW Executive Director gave the example of the Panchayat system (Local Government) in India where 33% seats are reserved for women. Some state assemblies of India have even decided to allot 50% seats, going beyond the 33% legislative quota because women comprise 50% of the population. She highlighted that women who run for these reserve seats run as independent candidates after serving one term, giving the opportunity to other women who need the breakthrough. In this way, the number automatically starts increasing. She said that the temporary special measures are essential to bring women on board and once they acquire the experience, they can contest for independent seats. She cited the example of Tanzania and Malawi, where women who come in through the special provisions are denied the voting right in Parliament. Obviously, these women get frustrated for not having the voting rights and they compete through other parties in the next election. There are positive sides to introducing the quota system in the sense that it provides that crucial breakthrough for women to enter Parliament and elected office and gain experience.

Group 2 Presentation

Outlining the opportunities, the presenter of Group 2 stated that BWPC provides a platform

Stakeholder Consultation Workshop & 34 the Launch of Bhutan Women Parliamentary Caucus (BWPC) for women parliamentarians to come together to discuss a wide range of issues related to gender equality regardless of their party line. This would lead to formulating gender sensitive policies and legislations. The Caucus would also increase the number of women participating in decision-making process as it would advocate and encourage more women to participate in the elections. Having more role models combined with mentoring programs would definitely increase the number of women participating in local government or parliamentary elections.

The Caucus would facilitate a common, united voice while framing gender sensitive policy and planning, and rules and regulations regardless of which party the members belong. The group stated that the Caucus can also promote real role models for women through the media rather than using animated women characters. The other opportunity is to change the mindset. As BWPC promotes visibility of women leaders, it would lead to increased acceptance of women in leadership positions and eventually transform the mindset.

The Group stated that the name ‘Bhutan Women Parliamentary Caucus’ does not sound inclusive and appears only inclusive for women in Parliament. It appears that the Caucus is only for women parliamentarians and it could discourage participation of women outside the Parliament. The Group suggested that the name of the Caucus should be changed or modified.

The group stated that projecting the members of the Caucus as role models could be difficult since leadership is viewed and perceived through different lens. The biggest challenge the group identified was to maintain non-partisan status of the Caucus. The group suggested amendment of laws and policies on women and children and implementation of special temporary measures. The group suggested that measures should be put in place to ensure that Royal Civil Service Commission allows candidates to participate in election process and to reinstate them into civil service when not elected. As a short-term plan, the BWPC could enhance capacity building for women parliamentarians through workshops and trainings.

Comment by Norbu Dema, BNEW Program Manager

The BNEW Program Manager pointed out that the group had looked at changing the mindset as an opportunity while others might view it as a challenge. On the name of the Caucus, she said that the pros outweigh the cons of having the term ‘parliamentary’ in the name, and all the participants are now advocates for the Caucus and they should clarify, advocate and create awareness that the Caucus is not exclusively for parliamentarians.

Comment by BNEW Executive Director The BNEW Executive Director clarified that the name of the Caucus was discussed at great length and it was found that the pros far outweigh the cons of having the term ‘parliamentary’ as part of the name. She said that the Caucus is a joint initiative for gender equality to ensure that the voices of the rest of the society are channeled through the women parliamentarians and therefore the name should not be an issue.

She also said that the Caucus would be promoting and projecting women role models to

Stakeholder Consultation Workshop & Stakeholder Consultation Workshop & the Launch of Bhutan Women Parliamentary Caucus (BWPC) the Launch of Bhutan Women Parliamentary Caucus (BWPC) 35 change the mindset and reduce the backlash on women role models. A handful of women who are in leadership positions are already scrutinized through the magnifying glass and that’s why the Caucus would focus on projecting them as leaders. It will build more confidence and trust in women leadership.

Comment by Norbu Dema, BNEW Program Manager

The BNEW Program Manager shared that in the past BNEW has done gender sensitization and worked with media professionals and it is encouraging to know that the media is also clearly seeing the role it can play in promoting women role models. Media could pick up stories and follow women leaders, be it in the Parliament or the local government, and share their stories to create greater awareness on women leadership. This would certainly go a long way in building confidence in women leaders and role models.

Group 3 Presentation

Group 3 presented on the strategies and action plans. It stated that the immediate action plan would be to include women from the private sector in the Core Working Group. The group felt that members from the government sectors were always given preferences and emphasized that even those from the private sector need to be included in every discussion. A large number of women work in the private sector.

The group suggested that a study must be carried out to assess women representation in corporate boards and committees of corporations and financial institutions and to advocate for equal gender balance in all boards and committees across public, private and corporate sectors.

In terms of long-term strategies, the group suggested that all boards and committees should be gender balanced. The group suggested that the Caucus should focus on advocacy and create conducive environment within families. Women are left behind because they do not get the support from their own families and spouses. Supportive families and spouses will make it easier for women to contest elections and take up leadership roles. The group recommended leadership development and training programs on communication for women leaders. The group felt that in order to challenge and change the mindset, educators should be educated on gender equality and measures taken to create gender-empowered context in schools.

Comment by BNEW Executive Director

The BNEW Executive Director noted that the committees and boards are the highest decision making levels in both public and private sectors and are key forums where important decisions are taken. The private and corporate committees and boards are mostly male dominated. She shared that recently in Nepal a movement was started to say no to all male panels or ‘Manels’. She stressed that it would be the immediate assignment of the Caucus would be to study, to know statistically, the number of women in the committees and the boards. It will be followed by advocacy to have gender parity in the boards and committees.

Stakeholder Consultation Workshop & 36 the Launch of Bhutan Women Parliamentary Caucus (BWPC) She also informed that BNEW would be organizing an orientation program for the Caucus members to ensure that all the members have proper understanding of what the Caucus stands for and what it is pursuing or trying to gain.

Comment by NCWC Director

Adding to the discussion, the NCWC Director highlighted the economic empowerment dimension, stressing on the need to generate data on women leaders and the number skilled women who comprise the workforce in the private sector. While the economic census has been carried out recently, getting data has been difficult because even the companies themselves do not know how many women are there. Once the data is collected, a proper analysis should be done, followed up by advocacy for having more women in leadership positions in the private sector.

Group 4 Presentation

The presenter of Group 4 stated that the Caucus has an immense opportunity to empower women and contribute to gender equality in the country in the context of the Planet 50-50. The Caucus has the opportunity to put forward a common voice for all women and share evidence-based voice in the Parliament. Since female parliamentarians are a minority group in the Parliament, they may not get the necessary support from male parliamentarians. Therefore, it was key to gender sensitize all the parliamentarians. The group felt it was important to apprise male parliamentarians on Bhutan’s national and international obligations, including CEDAW. The group suggested that vocal and prominent male parliamentarians should be brought onboard as potential partners by including them in the stakeholder consultations.

The group suggested that pre-parliamentary sessions could be organized with female parliamentarians to discuss and brainstorm relevant issues. These interactions present the opportunity to promote the voices of women in parliament. The group felt that female parliamentarians must be given the ownership to take the gender agenda forward rather than leaving it within the Caucus.

The group felt that there was an opportunity to take gender issues to a broader national level. However, the challenge is that there could be certain misconceptions, mainly that the Caucus could be seen as a women centric platform and could suffer due to the lack of partnership and commitment and support from other stakeholders and parliamentarians. So, the group felt that it was important for BWPC to sensitize parliamentarians on its objectives and demystify the misconceptions.

The Caucus provides an opportunity to empower women beyond the Parliament since it will have a mix of women from all walks of life. Since it is called ‘Bhutan Women Parliamentary Caucus’, there is a possibility that all the focus would probably be on women parliamentarians. The group suggested that name of the Caucus should be broadened and renamed as ‘Bhutan Women Caucus’ to make it more inclusive.

Stakeholder Consultation Workshop & Stakeholder Consultation Workshop & the Launch of Bhutan Women Parliamentary Caucus (BWPC) the Launch of Bhutan Women Parliamentary Caucus (BWPC) 37 The group recommended advocacy and sensitization programs for the new parliamentarians on national and international obligations, including capacity building and stakeholder consultations across all sectors. The group suggested that networking platforms should be created amongst parliamentarians, stakeholders, media and women outside the Parliament.

For the longer term, the group felt that there is a need for reliable data and statistics and gender related studies covering all sectors. The group stated that there is also the need to conduct research and identify issues female parliamentarians can take up in the Parliament over the next five years. The group felt that it was important to have gender-balanced boards and committees, including executive committees of political parties.

The group recommended promotion of collaboration by bringing onboard more partners such as Election Commission of Bhutan, Judiciary, political parties, media, CSOs, local government and private sectors. The group recommended that the Caucus should focus on orientation and capacity building in the first year, cover all 205 Gewogs in three years and 20 Dzongkhags in five years.

Comment by NCWC Director

The NCWC Director noted that the sensitization of parliamentarians is a key area and that NCWC is in fact working on a presentation to be made to the Women, Children and Youth Committee of the National Assembly. The presentation is a good opportunity to create awareness on gender issues and it will contribute to promoting a gender responsive Parliament. She highlighted that sensitization, demystifying and advocating are key strategies when it comes to gender equality. In terms of the need for data and evidence, only NCWC and a few other agencies are generating the data at the moment. Other sectors do not feel that it is their job to generate disaggregated gender related data. It is important to for all the sectors to mainstream gender into their programs and also carry out research from the gender perspective.

Responding to the Group’s concern on too much focus on women parliamentarians and the need to broaden the scope, she said that the forum is bigger and more inclusive compared to the Mongolian model where only the parliamentarians are the members. She said that Bhutan had to start with the parliamentarians because many issues relevant to women are discussed in the Parliament and a lot of opportunities are missed when crucial information is not passed across into the Parliament. While it is strategic to start off with the parliamentarians as the core group of the Caucus, the forum also include women from all walks of life. She also noted the action plans suggested by the group such as creating enabling environment and sensitization of CEDAW, SDGs etc. She reiterated that one of the key objectives of the Caucus is to generate evidence-based data and inform parliamentarians and women leaders.

Comment by BNEW Executive Director

Responding to the recurring concern on the use of the term ‘’parliamentary’, the BNEW

Stakeholder Consultation Workshop & 38 the Launch of Bhutan Women Parliamentary Caucus (BWPC) Executive Director reaffirmed that there was no reason to be bothered. BWPC is an inclusive, non-partisan, apolitical platform. She reiterated that the word ‘parliamentary’ had to be kept to reassure the handful of women parliamentarians that there is support and backstopping for them and that it is a safe space where they can engage in frank, intimate, and confidential conversations and where they can critique each other and provide constructive feedback. BWPC is not only about taking the agenda forward on gender equality but also to strengthen the capacity of women in Parliament and those outside the Parliament as future women leaders.

Stakeholder Consultation Workshop & Stakeholder Consultation Workshop & the Launch of Bhutan Women Parliamentary Caucus (BWPC) the Launch of Bhutan Women Parliamentary Caucus (BWPC) 39

: To include women from private sector in the core working group. group. working in the core sector private from include women To Immediate Actions Immediate Long term design) (curriculum - Education start childhood from parents/ - Educate citizens/inlfuential for senior leaders - Advocacy in the rural areas support spouse / facilitate groups for working environment conducive - Create Short terms more should be made (men equally all by genders understood are the issues that so stakeholders male - Involve of the problems/issues) aware forums for all BWPC’s MPs of male/female representation - Equal Long term: PCB) and (NGOP children and policies on women and of laws -Amendment Measures: Temporary - Special building Capacity Long term: - institutions. and financial corporations of - Carry in boards/committees out studies corporate). and (public, private committees and in all board balance gender equal advocate - To equality. for gender program orientation an - Have balance. gender have should committees and - All boards within families environment a conducive - Advocacy create and skills. on communication training - Strong in schools. context empowered gender equality creating and on gender be educated to - Educators Challenges of public - - Mindset women and men including sound - BWPC- doesn’t name like it is appears It inclusive. only for parliamentarians; for women limitations sets outside of the Parliament the caucus ensure to - How models? as role members petty things consider People in leadership. non- maintain to - How partisan? Opportunities sensitive - Gender plans. policies and number - High of women’s in participation decision making positions one voice - Unity: role real - Present models (through media) in the - Change mindset Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group Appendix: Summary Presentation of Group

Stakeholder Consultation Workshop & 40 the Launch of Bhutan Women Parliamentary Caucus (BWPC) Parliament, ECB, Govt- GFP, Judiciary, Political parties,media women related cso’s, local govt, pvt cso’s, related women parties,media Political Judiciary, Govt- GFP, ECB, Parliament, Cover all 205 geogs Cover Orientation/capacity building/documentation Orientation/capacity : Cover all 20 dzongkhags and more women turnover women more and all 20 dzongkhags : Cover - To gender sensitize all parliamentarians all sensitize parliamentarians gender - To MPs male vocal and inclusion of prominent and sensitization gender advocacy, - Gender initiative ownership of caucus - Transferring clarify to on BWPC misgivings any on the parliamentarians - Present planning for evident the statistics equity based - Use studies related gender more - Encourage all of the caucus. importance the members to - Equal Caucus Women as Bhutan - Re-name environment Enabling (CEDAW) sensitization - Advocacy, 50-50) planning building ( SDG, - Capacity collaboration - Stakeholder - Network 1 Year: 3 Years: 5 Years Patrons: sector Long term: civil politics, unemployment, agriculture, service, and (WIP, all sectors cover studies, related gender - Initiate political committees, on all boards, representation social/cultural/documentation); health, education, ECB, and data of evidence based dissemination analysis, collection and parties; data the national identify and up to be taken to issues partnership; research and collaboration promote information; Act. Marriage – e.g. for women challenges create policies that and review of acts level; - Being a minority- Being in group could there the Parliament, of supportbe a lack from counterparts male - Lack of support for gender agenda from - Lack of participation MPs female on - Misconception to seem can BWPC gender- MP’s. only female encourage and - Lack of study misreporting -As is caucus for parliamentarians, women outside of the Parliament focus. less receive may - Bring a common a common - Bring for women voice informed share - To voice evidence based promote - To responsive gender Parliament parliamentary- Pre withsessions women voice raise to MPs visibilityand of women gender take - To a to issues platform bigger (sensitization) relevant - Enhance on gender studies will - It empower withinwomen the caucus. Group 4 Group

Stakeholder Consultation Workshop & Stakeholder Consultation Workshop & the Launch of Bhutan Women Parliamentary Caucus (BWPC) the Launch of Bhutan Women Parliamentary Caucus (BWPC) 41 Email : [email protected] PO Box: 556 Phone No : +975-5-328878 Royal Government of Bhutan Fax No. : 02-334078 Telephone #: +975 - 2 - 334549 / 334553 P.O. Box : 696 Toll Free Help Line #: 1098 Azha’s Apartment (Next to FITI Building) Fax #: +975 - 2 - 334709 Website: www.bnew.bt website: www.ncwc.gov.bt

Stakeholder Consultation Workshop & 42 the Launch of Bhutan Women Parliamentary Caucus (BWPC)