This piece was written a while ago (last month) for Kuensel (not by me but by my husband). I am just posting it here for reference for my readers who may be looking for more information on the Rupee Issue.
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May 14, 2012
Age of Consent Being Rethought in India
Just last month when I was in India, I caught sight of a story on the front page of The Times of India: "Court urges rethink on age of consent". With great curiosity I noted that even though Bhutan has just become a democracy (2008) compared with India (1947) it seems like they are still behind or lagging in that discussion which Bhutan - thanks to media probing it - has already been having for a while.
Just goes to show that what I had been saying all along about this law when it was passed in Bhutan -resulting in the unnecessary imprisonment of so many young people - stands the same everywhere. Implementing such laws with black and white rulings by justice systems is having same impact in India.
This was one piece I wrote (Information Please) about Bhutan's age of consent law when it was first passed making the Age of Consent 18 and below. It seems India is running into the same problems.
Here is another piece (about 2 students that were arrested in Bhutan with regards to Age of Consent).
On 20th November 2010 the National Assembly in Bhutan took a second look at the law and if I am not mistaken the Age of Consent was brought down from 18 to 16. Hopefully this helps reduce the number of unnecessary imprisonments, but more importantly it will be how the justice system executes careful jurisprudence in looking at these cases in Bhutan, and hopefully India will find its answers too.
Just goes to show that what I had been saying all along about this law when it was passed in Bhutan -resulting in the unnecessary imprisonment of so many young people - stands the same everywhere. Implementing such laws with black and white rulings by justice systems is having same impact in India.
This was one piece I wrote (Information Please) about Bhutan's age of consent law when it was first passed making the Age of Consent 18 and below. It seems India is running into the same problems.
Here is another piece (about 2 students that were arrested in Bhutan with regards to Age of Consent).
On 20th November 2010 the National Assembly in Bhutan took a second look at the law and if I am not mistaken the Age of Consent was brought down from 18 to 16. Hopefully this helps reduce the number of unnecessary imprisonments, but more importantly it will be how the justice system executes careful jurisprudence in looking at these cases in Bhutan, and hopefully India will find its answers too.
May 12, 2012
Remembering a Mother
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| Deki |
This mother's day I would like to reflect and tell you the story of my mother to show how women can either make or break a home. Of course the man or father has his role in the family but my personal feeling is that a woman can make all the difference. If a woman is weak, if she is mean and selfish (my mother's stepmother) she can destroy a family. On the other hand, a strong, loving and nurturing woman can perform wonders on both her family and the world.
I will not go into the personal relationship I had with my mother. I admit I will be envious of any daughter that will say they had/have a "great" relationship with their mother, one free of complications. But let me, this Mother's day weekend, reflect on who that person ~ my mother ~ was, and how she shaped me to become who I am today and the values I hold.
My mother had humble roots. She was a village girl who lost her mother in child birth when she was only twelve. Even before her mother passed away, her father was already engaged in an illicit affair and so it was no surprise where his attention went immediately after his wife was gone.
May 3, 2012
After Death ~ Bardho Thoedroel
His Holiness the Dalai Lama has said that in life we prepare for many trips and events, but we fail to prepare for the biggest trip that we will ever take; death. Forget preparing for it, we don't even like to think about it or be reminded of it.
For me, I have had no choice but to have death shoved into my face time and again. I have lost many loved ones and once again just recently experienced it through the loss of another loved one. I must say, however, that apart from the kind gestures and compassion of family and friends what has helped pull me through and understand death (even if it be through the Buddhist tradition) has come from reading the Bardho Thoedroel - The Tibetan Book of the Dead.
About two decades ago when my father passed away, this book wasn't accessible or maybe wasn't even translated from Tibetan/Choekay to English. When my mother passed away in 2006 I kept the book by my side and read it daily to help me understand the process after her life here; understand the religious ceremonies which would have otherwise been meaningless or just a process to be observed. There are different versions of the book but the two I have read are by Robert Thurman and the other- said to be the first complete translation - is by Gyurme Dorji, a leading scholar of the Nyingma tradition, Graham Coleman, and Thubten Jinpa, translator for HH the Dalai Lama. In case some aren't aware this is an ancient text written centuries ago but was a tantric teaching on death imparted by Guru Padmasambhava in the 7th Century. The text is also called Liberation upon hearing. Apparently there is even a film on it narrated by Leonard Cohen.
I have heard many complaints about how expensive Buddhism has become; that it is a religion the poor cannot afford anymore. These complaints from people especially at the time of death because death is a very huge event for those following this tradition. Come to think of it in the Buddhist tradition there is no observance of any other milestone in our life than death. Buddhism really doesn't ask for any rituals while one is living. Much of the rituals we partake in today emanate from the Bonn tradition. Elaborate births/Birthdays/Wedding celebrations are a recent and new phenomenon - obviously a trend set by people who have a lot of money. But Buddhism asks no celebration of these milestones like other traditions do, and if one chooses to maybe by mere observances through a simple religious ritual. But death; it is a milestone in the process of our lives/reincarnations in samsara hence it is of extreme importance, something not to be ignored, something to be invested in.
For me, I have had no choice but to have death shoved into my face time and again. I have lost many loved ones and once again just recently experienced it through the loss of another loved one. I must say, however, that apart from the kind gestures and compassion of family and friends what has helped pull me through and understand death (even if it be through the Buddhist tradition) has come from reading the Bardho Thoedroel - The Tibetan Book of the Dead.
About two decades ago when my father passed away, this book wasn't accessible or maybe wasn't even translated from Tibetan/Choekay to English. When my mother passed away in 2006 I kept the book by my side and read it daily to help me understand the process after her life here; understand the religious ceremonies which would have otherwise been meaningless or just a process to be observed. There are different versions of the book but the two I have read are by Robert Thurman and the other- said to be the first complete translation - is by Gyurme Dorji, a leading scholar of the Nyingma tradition, Graham Coleman, and Thubten Jinpa, translator for HH the Dalai Lama. In case some aren't aware this is an ancient text written centuries ago but was a tantric teaching on death imparted by Guru Padmasambhava in the 7th Century. The text is also called Liberation upon hearing. Apparently there is even a film on it narrated by Leonard Cohen.
I have heard many complaints about how expensive Buddhism has become; that it is a religion the poor cannot afford anymore. These complaints from people especially at the time of death because death is a very huge event for those following this tradition. Come to think of it in the Buddhist tradition there is no observance of any other milestone in our life than death. Buddhism really doesn't ask for any rituals while one is living. Much of the rituals we partake in today emanate from the Bonn tradition. Elaborate births/Birthdays/Wedding celebrations are a recent and new phenomenon - obviously a trend set by people who have a lot of money. But Buddhism asks no celebration of these milestones like other traditions do, and if one chooses to maybe by mere observances through a simple religious ritual. But death; it is a milestone in the process of our lives/reincarnations in samsara hence it is of extreme importance, something not to be ignored, something to be invested in.
Apr 2, 2012
Bhutan: UNhappy or Happy
These are interesting times for the Bhutanese. The Prime Minister is at the United Nations in New York for an extremely high level conference, Wellbeing and Happiness: Defining a New Economic Paradigm, with an aim to take further the Happiness Resolution that he proposed 2 years ago at the UNGA. The Millennium Development Goals is deadlined for 2015 and it is hoped that the new paradigm will influence the new development goals keeping the overall "Wellbeing and Happiness" of the people in mind.
There are 600 participants from all over the world comprising Nobel Laureates, Academics, Economists and Non-Governmental Organizations. At the centre of this is the Prime Minister of Bhutan who feels very passionately that he is taking/sharing to the global stage the unique philosophy of Gross National Happiness that his King (the Fourth King of Bhutan) coined and abided by during His reign.
Bhutan's example as a country that was forced to emerge from self-imposed isolation as a result of events beyond its borders and pursue a consistent and steady pace of development without compromising its environmental, cultural, traditional and religious values, has been well noted. The country's ability to steer itself on the right path as a result of its small population and, more importantly, its enlightened rulers/Kings, has been/should be, a lesson for many leaders of other nations - not only poor ones. The Prime Minister's attempt to do this - make an example of his King and Country - should be applauded and appreciated.
Mar 30, 2012
Bhutan: Prime Minister holds Press Conference at the UN
A Press Conference was held gearing up to the Conference on the "Happiness Resolution" to be held at the UN on April 2nd. Bhutan is going to propose 600 participants from all over the world to come up with an alternative paradigm to Economic Development. Bhutan's PM fielded questions, even as controversial as that of how Bhutanese Refugees would fit into this *Happiness* Concept.
BTW the footage showing an empty hall at the beginning is rather deceptive. I was in the hall when the opening remarks were made but in the footage I am clearly not there.
BTW the footage showing an empty hall at the beginning is rather deceptive. I was in the hall when the opening remarks were made but in the footage I am clearly not there.
Mar 28, 2012
Bhutan: New Information on Statutory Rape Case Surprises
The recent revelation that the person who was responsible for impregnating a 13 year old was a teenager himself - only 17 years old - has surprised many leaving them feeling rather sympathetic to both.
Kuensel's update on the story implies that the victim and the boy had "exchanged letters" hence there must have been a relationship. Once again, the report from the court and the police raises more questions than answers.
If the DNA tests prove that the young man is not the father of the child then what is the court and the police going to do to help the girl find out who the father is? Will they even help? After all this is a case of "Statutory Rape". What makes them think that the the girl - only 13 years old - who was living by herself in a hut with 2 younger kids would not have been taken advantage of by other men? IF the 17 year old is not the father of the child the court says they will charge the young girl with defamation. The law-enforcement and the justice system seems to be looking at the case simply as if it is black and white.
IF the 17 year old is not the father, it means that the girl was raped by another man. Isn't there some possibility that given the age of the young girl she was confused then about who the father may be? How can she be charged with defamation based on the fact that she was wrong in identifying the father? How much do you expect an underaged girl to know?
While I was surprised myself to discover that the young man was only 17 and felt great sympathy knowing that they may have been in a relationship that resulted in this, I also feel that not making him accountable will only result in the "Sexual Offences Act" not being taken seriously.
That Act was designed with the aim to protect young girls and children from heinous crimes ( Kuensel just reported this story of an even younger/underage case of both perpetrator and victim.) And if law-enforcement and the justice system do not adhere to it then we will find that the perpetrators of such crime will never feel accountable. After all we have seen many, many women and young girls in the Bhutanese villages left with illegitimate children and have never been able to bring these men to justice because the system has not made it easy for them. Irrespective of whether they had been in a relationship with these men or not, the system makes it extremely difficult for these women not only to avail justice for being raped but to even avail citizenship for their children because they have to prove the identity of the father. When a man is identified or accused of fathering a child by the woman, the judges should be able to issue a subpoena to drag that man to face the case in court. The excuse so far has been that the man refused to come. In that case the court should issue a warrant for failure to appear in court which then allows for his arrest by any police to force him to. It is a shame that our courts, law-enforcement and our officials have never pursued this issue seriously enough. The inability of the justice system to make these men responsible for their behaviour has definitely had some bearing on Bhutan's social problems today. Much of what is happening on the streets of Thimphu - the violence and neglect - can be in some ways attributed to the system not curbing the behaviour of men to spawn illegitimate children; women being left with no means or income to raise these children; and neglect and failure by the system to address this aspect of the problem.
In this case, it is reported that the young man may face 9 to 15 years in prison if he is proven to be the father of the child. Given that he is a teenager himself; given that he "may" have been involved in a relationship with the girl, there should be some exception made to the case. To slap the same penalty to this young man as they would to an adult would not help anyone. As I have said before while writing about this issue, the justice system has to take great care to look into the nature of the case instead of making black and white rulings. The young man has to go to prison - there is no question about that. This is a case of "Statutory Rape" and he - and others like him - have to learn that the justice system takes this seriously. However, 9 to 15 years in prison for a young person will not help anyone. Given that we have no separate prison/facility for young people 5 years, with the possibility of parole (at 3 years) based on behaviour and conduct, sounds reasonable enough.
Kuensel's update on the story implies that the victim and the boy had "exchanged letters" hence there must have been a relationship. Once again, the report from the court and the police raises more questions than answers.
If the DNA tests prove that the young man is not the father of the child then what is the court and the police going to do to help the girl find out who the father is? Will they even help? After all this is a case of "Statutory Rape". What makes them think that the the girl - only 13 years old - who was living by herself in a hut with 2 younger kids would not have been taken advantage of by other men? IF the 17 year old is not the father of the child the court says they will charge the young girl with defamation. The law-enforcement and the justice system seems to be looking at the case simply as if it is black and white.
IF the 17 year old is not the father, it means that the girl was raped by another man. Isn't there some possibility that given the age of the young girl she was confused then about who the father may be? How can she be charged with defamation based on the fact that she was wrong in identifying the father? How much do you expect an underaged girl to know?
While I was surprised myself to discover that the young man was only 17 and felt great sympathy knowing that they may have been in a relationship that resulted in this, I also feel that not making him accountable will only result in the "Sexual Offences Act" not being taken seriously.
That Act was designed with the aim to protect young girls and children from heinous crimes ( Kuensel just reported this story of an even younger/underage case of both perpetrator and victim.) And if law-enforcement and the justice system do not adhere to it then we will find that the perpetrators of such crime will never feel accountable. After all we have seen many, many women and young girls in the Bhutanese villages left with illegitimate children and have never been able to bring these men to justice because the system has not made it easy for them. Irrespective of whether they had been in a relationship with these men or not, the system makes it extremely difficult for these women not only to avail justice for being raped but to even avail citizenship for their children because they have to prove the identity of the father. When a man is identified or accused of fathering a child by the woman, the judges should be able to issue a subpoena to drag that man to face the case in court. The excuse so far has been that the man refused to come. In that case the court should issue a warrant for failure to appear in court which then allows for his arrest by any police to force him to. It is a shame that our courts, law-enforcement and our officials have never pursued this issue seriously enough. The inability of the justice system to make these men responsible for their behaviour has definitely had some bearing on Bhutan's social problems today. Much of what is happening on the streets of Thimphu - the violence and neglect - can be in some ways attributed to the system not curbing the behaviour of men to spawn illegitimate children; women being left with no means or income to raise these children; and neglect and failure by the system to address this aspect of the problem.
In this case, it is reported that the young man may face 9 to 15 years in prison if he is proven to be the father of the child. Given that he is a teenager himself; given that he "may" have been involved in a relationship with the girl, there should be some exception made to the case. To slap the same penalty to this young man as they would to an adult would not help anyone. As I have said before while writing about this issue, the justice system has to take great care to look into the nature of the case instead of making black and white rulings. The young man has to go to prison - there is no question about that. This is a case of "Statutory Rape" and he - and others like him - have to learn that the justice system takes this seriously. However, 9 to 15 years in prison for a young person will not help anyone. Given that we have no separate prison/facility for young people 5 years, with the possibility of parole (at 3 years) based on behaviour and conduct, sounds reasonable enough.
Mar 24, 2012
Bhutan: Statutory Rapist Walks Free & There Is Little Outrage
Several years ago Bhutan introduced "The Sexual Offenses Act." According to the Penal Code the age of consent for sex was introduced as 18. At the time it was introduced the law was enacted with full force and several people who had engaged in sex (even if it was consensual) with women/girls as young as 15 were carted off to prison.
While it was good that the law was taken seriously, it created a great deal of confusion then given that Bhutanese are sexually liberal people and that the marriageable age (especially outside of Thimphu) was around 15 and the age of consent to sex was 18.
After many men (even those who had consensual sex with someone as old as 18) became convicted felons and branded "rapists" because of the law, it was rethought and the age of consent was dropped to 16.
Yesterday Kuensel broke the story that a 13 year old school girl in Deothang had given birth. The story said that the girl who was the oldest of 5 children was living in a makeshift hut with 3 of those siblings because they didn't have enough boarding space in the school she went to. I just cannot imagine the difficult life this girl had - having to care for two younger siblings, feed them and see to their safety, while she herself went to school. Then she winds up getting pregnant.
While it was good that the law was taken seriously, it created a great deal of confusion then given that Bhutanese are sexually liberal people and that the marriageable age (especially outside of Thimphu) was around 15 and the age of consent to sex was 18.
After many men (even those who had consensual sex with someone as old as 18) became convicted felons and branded "rapists" because of the law, it was rethought and the age of consent was dropped to 16.
Yesterday Kuensel broke the story that a 13 year old school girl in Deothang had given birth. The story said that the girl who was the oldest of 5 children was living in a makeshift hut with 3 of those siblings because they didn't have enough boarding space in the school she went to. I just cannot imagine the difficult life this girl had - having to care for two younger siblings, feed them and see to their safety, while she herself went to school. Then she winds up getting pregnant.
Mar 19, 2012
Had a Good Sleep? Bhutan's wake up call is Here : The Rupee Crunch
Time to Wake Up!
Wakey, Wakey! Hope all of us Bhutanese had a good sleep. It's now time to rub our eyes and jump out of bed! If you slept through much of everything in these last few years, this may be the right time to wake up in time for the clarion call.
The last few weeks or so the Bhutanese have been rudely shaken up from their slumber to the reality of the Rupee Crunch. While I should be the last person to comment on money matters and economics, to many of us in the media or even the average Joe (in this case the average Dorji), it is common knowledge that our imports have always exceeded our exports hence the hole we are in. We also know that this has been the trend in the last 20 years or so. You can read all the explanations on how this happened and why it happened in the Bhutanese Media. Here is Kuensel's explanation, Bhutan Observer's, and Business Bhutan's. Just want to add blogger KB Wakhley's post. Some alarming insinuations about excessive payments made to Indian contractors on the hydropower projects. These practices also help contribute to draining Rupees. Blogger Yeshey Dorji also discusses this.
At times like these it is sometimes good to reassess our values, personally, and also as a system. I am commenting as a lay-person who doesn't possess in-depth knowledge on money matters or economics, and apart from knowing and following religiously that one shouldn't spend more than one earns, I, like many others, also see that there are many things that need restructuring in our system.
Wakey, Wakey! Hope all of us Bhutanese had a good sleep. It's now time to rub our eyes and jump out of bed! If you slept through much of everything in these last few years, this may be the right time to wake up in time for the clarion call.
The last few weeks or so the Bhutanese have been rudely shaken up from their slumber to the reality of the Rupee Crunch. While I should be the last person to comment on money matters and economics, to many of us in the media or even the average Joe (in this case the average Dorji), it is common knowledge that our imports have always exceeded our exports hence the hole we are in. We also know that this has been the trend in the last 20 years or so. You can read all the explanations on how this happened and why it happened in the Bhutanese Media. Here is Kuensel's explanation, Bhutan Observer's, and Business Bhutan's. Just want to add blogger KB Wakhley's post. Some alarming insinuations about excessive payments made to Indian contractors on the hydropower projects. These practices also help contribute to draining Rupees. Blogger Yeshey Dorji also discusses this.
At times like these it is sometimes good to reassess our values, personally, and also as a system. I am commenting as a lay-person who doesn't possess in-depth knowledge on money matters or economics, and apart from knowing and following religiously that one shouldn't spend more than one earns, I, like many others, also see that there are many things that need restructuring in our system.
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