Bhutan+10 conference on “Gender and Sustainable Mountain Development in a Changing World” concludes

A decade after ‘Celebrating Mountain Women’ conference in 2002, this year’s Bhutan+10 at Hotel Taj Tashi reflected on the gains, best practices, emerging concerns and persistent challenges that women are facing in achieving gender equality in the mountain region. The conference also set the agenda for gender transformative change in the post Rio+20 world and beyond the Millennium Development Goals.

Addressing the opening ceremony, the Chief Guest, Hon’ble Chief Justice of Bhutan, Lyonpo Sonam Tobgye said ‘Women are agents that help us build social capital and who contributes towards strengthening the fabric of our societies.’  He called for legal remedies and other measures to address discrimination against women. Also present were Hon’ble Heikki Holmes, Minister for International Development, Norway; Hon’ble Lyonpo Thakur S. Powdyel, Minster for Education, Bhutan; Hon’ble Lyonpo (Dr.) Pema Gyamtsho, Minister for MoAF, Bhutan and Dr. David Molden, Director General of ICIMOD and other dignitaries.

On the opening day, the ICIMOD study on ‘Gender and Biodiversity Management in the Greater Himalayas’ and an important report on Women’s’ Participation in the 2011 National Elections in Bhutan were also released.

The participants were divided into four different groups. The first group visited the women’s vegetable producer group in Paro (the same women’s group who started playing a previously totally male dominated game, khuru which is an outdoor team sport of darts with around 20 metres between the two A5 sized end-to-end targets). The other groups visited the Tarayana Foundation, the Folk Heritage Museum, the National Commission on Women and Children and the Community Forest of Kabisa village in Thimphu respectively. The visits helped them to understand the traditional Bhutanese life, group’s forestry practices and governance structure.

According to a press release, the five day conference included an informative and engaging high level panel of ministers from Afghanistan, Norway, Pakistan and Bhutan including a debate on the pros and cons of affirmative action and quota system. A second high-level panel reflected on the outcomes of the United Nations conference on Sustainable Development (Riio+20) in terms of gender aspect. The conference saw six plenaries and eighteen parallel sessions which ended with strong messages renewing the focus on gender equality. It also provided a vital networking opportunity where new friendships, linkages and bilateral relations were forged that will last into the next decade.

Most importantly, the conference ended with the announcement of an important new global network on Women, Gender, Environment and Mountains (WGEM) which will ensure that researchers, practitioners, policy makers, and grassroots women are connected on a regular basis, both virtually and through regular face-to-face meetings. A time capsule was prepared containing the participants’ hopes and wishes, only to be opened after a decade.

The Bhutan+10 conference declaration, launched by Lyonpo Thakur S. Powdyel calls for better integration of mountain perspectives in all sectors and scales of international development, sufficient human and financial resources for gender analysis and transformative change, affirmative action, recognition of women and men as active players on a level playing field, and the promotion of wellbeing and happiness in mountain countries.

Compiled by Tshering Doma, ICS with photographs by Choidup Zangpo, ICS