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Girls out number the boys in many of the schools in Thimphu
For the majority of Bhutanese women, seeking an education was however, not easy. Parents preferred girls to stay home, helping in domestic chores and rearing a family when the time came. So the boys went to school while the girls stayed home. When girls reached a certain age, there was the parental pressure to get a job and start a family life. Those in schools had to leave to help the family. "My parents coaxed me to get married when I was in class eight," said Pema from Trashigang, a small time employee in a private company.
Tshering, a mother of two children and a government employee had to give up her schooling because she had to look after her younger siblings. "I was good in studies but I couldn't carry on because my parents needed me at home rather than send me to school." Reasons are varied but a large population of Bhutanese women did miss out on education in the early years of development. "Parents also hesitated to send girls to schools which were far away from home because of security reasons," said Dechen, a teacher.

"I believe my mother tried everything to keep me away from being taken to school," said 58 year old aum Pema Wangmo who is currently enrolled in a non-formal education (NFE) centre. "Had she been a little wise, I would not have to be attending this course at my age," she said.

An education ministry official said that not sending girls to school had more to do with "protecting the girl child rather than indulging in any form of gender disparity." Schools were situated at long distances from homes where the children had to walk for hours in some places. "Lack of accessibility to schools was the main reason that prompted poor participation of the parents in promoting education among their daughters. Girls were considered more helpless and vulnerable and this discouraged parents from sending their daughters to school," he added. The problem was largely in rural Bhutan where most of the Bhutanese lived.

With education for all as one of the priorities of the government, the gender disparity in school enrollment has narrowed down in the past decade with an overall increase in student enrollment. More than 0.1 million children are enrolled in 412 schools and 14 institutions and vocational centers around the country. At the primary level the gap between boys and girls enrollment has significantly narrowed to less than 4 percent. Out of the total of 93,974 currently in the primary level, girls constitute 47 percent of the total students. Thimphu dzongkhag alone has 18 percent of girls enrolled in school.

Contributed by by Kinley Y Dorji & Kinley Wangmo,KUENSEL, Bhutan's National Newspaper, 2006

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