1) The study assessed the role of women in socio-economic development in rural Bhutan using data collected from 76 households in Chapcha Gewog. 2) It found that women play a significant role in agriculture, livestock, trading, and household activities. In agriculture, over 40% of women contribute about half the effort, and most decisions are made equally between men and women. 3) In livestock, over a quarter of women contribute about three-quarters of the effort, though they participate less in decision-making. Women's participation varies depending on the number of women and size of landholding in their family. 4) The study concludes rural women play an important role in rural development, though men are often

1. Role of Women in Socio-economic Development in Rural Bhutan:
A case of Chapcha Gewog
JigmePhuntsho1, Pema Namgyel1, Dechen Wangmo1, Pema Tshechup1, Jamyang Chophel1 and
Chimmi Lhamo1
ABSTRACT
The traditionally paternalistic society of Bhutan has over 52% women population whose contribution to the
country’s development process has not been empirically studied. Therefore, this study attempts to assess the
role of women in various aspects of socio-economic domains, with the key objectives of determining the
contributionof women in agriculture, livestock, trading, household activity and societyincluding the
level of their participation in decision making in these areas, and assessing the socio-economic status
of women in rural Bhutanese society vis-à-vis their male counterparts. Data were collected using
structured interview schedules and were analyzed using descriptive and non-parametric statistics.The
study conducted in Chapcha Gewog concludes that women are the building block of a rural society
and rural women play amore significant role than men. Yet, results exert that men are economically
more productive and despite the greater proportion of their contribution to rural development, it was
notable that the higher women population has compensated the lesser numbered men’s role in
agricultureand livestock.
KEY WORDS:
Role of women, socio-economic, Chapcha and rural Bhutan
INTRODUCTION
The first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru once told that a person can tell the condition
of a nation by looking at the status of its women. Accordingly, if we look at the general status of
women in Bhutan, we are bound to presume that Bhutanese women are far more privileged as
compared to the women worldwide (Bhutan Times, n.d.). In the mid1980s, a report by Lewis
(1991)pointed out that 95 percent of all Bhutanese women from the ages of 15 to 64 years were
involved in agricultural work, compared with only 78 percent of men in the same age range.
However, much change has taken place in the last few decades. Currently, women compose of
47.83 percent of the total population (Bhutan at a Glance, 2012) of which 69% lives in rural parts
of the country. According to Population and Housing Census of Bhutan (PHCB) (2005) data, 31
percent of males are unpaid family workers compared to 61 percent of female unpaid family
workers in rural areas. Against this backdrop of a high concentration of female population in the
rural areas, the present study attempt to study their role in rural development through their
contribution in various socio-economic domains.
Ijere (1992) pointed out, from the study of Khan andBibi (2011) that, “women form the back-bone of
rural developments”. He further enunciated that women can be seen as the catalyst and vehicle for
1
Student of Gaeddu College of Business Studies, BBA 4th year, Gedu, Chukha

2. development. Similarly, Coonrod (1998) suggested that much of the essential work for ending
hunger, particularly in developing countries, rests in women’s hands. Therefore, we cannot afford to
ignore the contribution of women to rural development. For all these reasons, Lenin (1977) asserts the
importance of women in the society to such an extent that he notes, “We cannot go forward without
Women”.
In most of the developing countries, particularly in Africa, women constitute 70 to 80 percent of the
total agricultural labor force and account for over 80 percent of food production (UNIDO, 2009). A
study in Sub Saharan African (SSA) also indicated that women are primarily responsible for food
production, food preparation, food storage, and food sale within the family (Ohiza, 2011). Despite
making major contributions in agricultural production, women also play a key role in running
households (Khan andBibi, 2011). However, Khan &Bibi (2011) the same author argue that the
linkage between women and market was found almost non-existent. According to them, hardly 6%
women approach the local market to sell their products.
Women play a significant role in building the society. Risman (1998) pointed out that men mature to
be competitive and work oriented while women mature to become nurturing, person oriented and
child centered. Similarly, Schultz (2002) pointed that increased schooling of the mother is associated
with larger effects on child health, schooling and adult productivity than increased schooling of the
father. However, the society did not pay keen attention to the great contribution of women to the
growth of the society and this has gone a long way to dampen their morals and make their effort
fruitless (Ohiza, 2011). Khan andBibi (2011) also affirm that the women’s role is not recognized and
appreciated due to social and cultural factors, and also there are general false impressions especially
among illiterate, rural people that women cannot forfeit any productive role, as they are physically
and culturally inferior to male.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Description of sampling sites and sample collection
The Chapcha gewog is northern part of Chukha Dzongkhag. Data were collected from Chapcha,
Gangkha, Shamakha and Bunagu. Under Chapcha Gewog, there are 364 households, and for the
study, a convenient sample of 76 households was selected. The samples were selected because of
their convenient accessibility and proximity to the researcher. However, it was not wholly because
they were the most convenient and easiest to get, rather it turned out to be the maximum size the team
could conveniently reach within the stipulated time period (25th -28th August, 2012) granted by the
college authority.Interview andscheduling method was used for data collectionbecause majority of the
respondents were illiterate. The study was conducted over a period of approximately three months.
Statistical analysis
The entire dataset was analyzed using a computer program called the Statistical Package for Social
Sciences (SPSS) version 11.5 and Stata/IC version 10.0. Pearson’s Chi-Square Test of Independence
and Fisher’s Exact Test were accordingly used to test the significance of relationships between a
profile and a response variable. Cross-tabulation was generally used to carry out cross analysis of
data.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
Profile Description: The respondents composed of a majority of married women comprising
72.4% of the total, followed by 10.5% of divorced women, 9.2% and 7.9% of widowed and
unmarried women respectively. The maximum number of female in a family is two, with 42.1%
while the maximum number of male in the family is one with 38.2%. Men and women referred in

3. this study are only those who are above 18 years of age. The majority of the women are illiterate with
68.4%, 11.8% had studied up to middle secondary level, and 10.5% attended NFE. 5% of the
respondents have 6 to 10 acres of land. Majority (77.60%)own 1 to 5 acres of land and the rest 15.8%
have less than 1 acre of land.
I: Livelihood of Chapcha
Chapcha is highly dependent on agriculture and livestock. 55.5% of the households depend only on
agriculture while 43.4 % of them dependboth on agriculture and livestock. So far as the female
population in a family is concerned, it was found that, in cases where agriculture is the only source of
living, households with one female prevails (77.3 %) over households with two females. On the other
hand, it was found that dependence on both sources of agriculture& livestock is higher from
households having two females (53.1%) as compared to households with one female (18.2 %). This
indicates that, lower the number of female in a family, higher is their dependence on agriculture
alone, whereas livestock management is hardly favored by families having a single woman.
Majority (42.1 %) has an annual approximate family income between Nu.50,000–Nu.1,00,000. 30.3
% of them earn between Nu.10,000 –Nu.50,000 while a sizable 21.1 % earns within the range of
Nu.1,00,000–Nu. 1,50,000 a year. The primary source of income for Chapcha is potato, which the
place indeed is popularly known for. Findings reveal that where there is no man in a family, 90.9% of
the respondents earn less than Nu.1,00,000 in a year. Comparing income between families with one
and two men, the former prevails over the latter in case where households earn less than Nu.1,00,000
a year with 86.1% but in case of households’ income exceeding Nu.1,00,000 a year, the latter hold a
greater proportion with 54.6%. Therefore, family income is directly related to the number of men in a
family.However, it was observed that a inverse proportion of 31.8 % and 18.8% from households that
earn incomes above Nu.100,000 in a year represent households having one and two women
respectively. To test whether the difference is significant, the chi-square test has been done which
gave a Pearson value of 0.634. Since this value is more than the alpha value of 0.05, the difference in
income level between women population in a family is not significant. Likewise, though the literacy
level of woman in a family has varying impact upon the income level of a household, chi-square test
did not proved any statistical significance (sig. value=.59).
II: Women in Agriculture Activity
Participation in agriculture activity is measured in two important aspects: the extent to which the
women participate in (i) physical agriculture work and (ii) decision-making relating to agriculture
work.
From the Table 1, the overall picture portrays that women’s participation in physical agriculturework
is quite high. Observing the proportion of women participation from various classes of respondents
based on female population in a household, women from households having one female hold the
smallest proportion(45.5) % as compared to households having two (46.9 %) and three (58.4 %)
females in a family in a situation where women participates to an extent that is more than half of the
total effort required. So far as number of men in the agriculture work is concerned, the study reveals
that a decrease in percentage of 47.5%, 32.5% and 20% belongs to family having one, two and three
male members respectively. This indicates that as number of male members in a family increases, the
women’s participation in agriculture activity decreases.A majority of 40.8% of the total households
where women again contribute to about half of the total effort required is from those households
where women are illiterate.
Majority responded that women and men participate equally in making decisions relating to
agriculture activities in the family as shown in Table 1.On top of that, 39.5% of women are
participating to an extent that is more than half of the total effort required.In totality, women take a
greater role than men in making agriculture -related decisions.The study reveals that where women
puts an effort that is more than half of the total effort, those who have one child in a family top the list
by 77.8% compared to those family having two and three children with 25% each respectively

4. indicating that as the number of children increases in the family, women’s role in decision making
relating to agriculture activities is declining.Similarly, a decrease in percentage of 69.5%, 30.6% and
25% accordingly belong to families having one,two and three male member respectively. This
indicates that lesser the male member in a family, there is a greater role of women in decision making
relating to agriculture activity.
Table 1: Women's participation in Agriculture
Never
About 25% of the total effort required
About 50% of the total effort required
About 75% of the total effort required
Women put the whole effort
Total
Response in Percentage
Physical activity
Decision making
3.9
3.9
7.9
11.8
40.8
44.7
26.3
15.8
21.1
23.7
100
100
III: Women in LivestockActivity
The role of women in livestock activity is also studied in the similar manner as agriculture, i.e., on the
basis to what extent do they participate in (i) the manual physical work and, (ii) the decision making
related to livestock.
From the Table 2, it is clear thatthough there is a high proportion of women not participating (28.9%)
at all in the livestock activity, majority (38.1%) put more effort than men. One reason behind why
women participation is low is perhaps because many households raise only bullocks which is mainly
taken care by men. In single women families, it was observed that the proportion where women never
participate in livestock is 54.5%, compared to 21.9% and 16.7% from families having two and three
women respectively. Accordingly, in cases where women contribute to about ¾ of the total effort,
households having three women contribute more, i.e. 33.3%, compared to 31.3% and 9.1% from
households having two and one woman respectively. This suggests, more the number of women in a
family, the more do women participate in livestock activity.From where women never participate in
livestock activity, a descending percentage of 36.4%, 22.7% and 13.6% each belong to families
having one, two and three males respectively. Similar is the case when women contribute about 50%
or equal effort.
The participation of women in decision making relating to livestock activity is proportionately lesser
as compared to menas shown in the Table 2.So far as the female number in a family is concerned, it
was found that where women never participate, 52.9% and 29.4% of them belong to families having
one and two female members while in cases where women contribute ¾ the families having two
female top the list 18.2% compared to 28.2% having one woman. Where in the absence of women
participation in decision making, those households having the largest land holding have the lowest
proportion with 20% as compared to 20.3% and 33.3% from those households having 1-5 acres and
less than 1 acre of land respectively. In a case where women make the whole decision relating to
livestock activity, those household holding largest land area contribute more (20%) compared to those
who own less than 1 acre and 1 to 5 acres with 8.3% and 13.6% respectively. It was observed
thatwomen’s participation is dependent on the number of female members and the land holding of a
family
Table 2: Women's participation in Livestock
Never
About 25% of the total effort required
Response in Percentage
Physical Activity
Decision making
28.9
22.4
5.3
9.2

5. About 50% of the total effort required
About 75% of the total effort required
Women put the whole effort
Total
27.6
27.6
10.5
100
44.7
10.5
13.2
100
IV: Women in trading of Agriculture products
Trading is an important part of any economic activity.Involvement in trading for the purpose of the
study refers exclusively to women’s involvement in physical escorting and selling of their
agricultureproducts at their designated markets.The study revealed that a majority of 43% of women
participation about less than 50% of the total effort required while only 29% participate more than
50%. Thus, it is evident that women’s participation is slightly low in trading as compared to men. The
finding also depicts that where women’s participation is less than half of the total estimated times,
households having two women is greater (43 against 41%) but where women’s participation is more
than half, households with one woman take a larger proportion with 45% against 31%. Similar is the
trend with the number of men in a family. Where women participate more than men, households
having only one male have the higher percentage of 35% compared to 18% and 8% from household
having two and three males respectively. Thus, it was found that women coming from households that
have lesser member (both men and women) are more involved in trading.
V: Women in Household activity
Women’s participation in the household activity is also measured based on two significant levels, i.e.,
physical involvement and involvement in decision-making related to household activity.
Women participation in the household activity is immensely greater than the male counterparts.
Majority of 89.5% of respondent participate more than men as shown in Table 3.Where women
contribute more than half of the total effort required, a descending percentage of 91%, 90.7% and
83.3% belongs to families having one, two and three female members respectively. A similar
descending percentage of 91.7%, 89.9% and 80% are observed in case of households which own
lands within the range of: less than 1 acre, 1-5 acres and 6-10 acres respectively.In case of women
putting in about 75 % of the total effort required for household work, with 65.5% women from
households having one man owe the majority compared to 15.6% and 18.8% from two and three
males respectively.The study found that, lesser the arable land, number of women and men in a
household, the women are more burdened with household management. Majority of 77.8% women
who take the full responsibility of household activity are those who are illiterate.
Women take almost the whole responsibility of household decision making as shown in Table 3.It
was also observed as the number of female increased from one to three, the percentage of women
participation in decision making decreased from 71.4%, 68.2% and 35.7% respectively where women
participate more than 50%. In the same situation, women participation from households having only
one man in the family holds greater proportion(78.8%) compared to 29.5% from those having two
men. Thus, it was found that women’s involvement in household decision making rises as the number
of male and female in a family declines. In cases where women’s participation is more than half of
thetotal effort required, it was found that the proportion of households from those having one child is
greater (with 50 %) as compared to thehouses having two children (40%).
Table 3: Women's participation in Household
Never
About 25% of the total effort required
About 50% of the total effort required
Response in Percentage
Physical activity
Decision-making
3.9
2.6
0
7.9
6.6
38.2

6. About 75% of the total effort required
Women put the whole effort
Total
42.1
47.4
100
27.6
23.7
100
VI: Social Participation of Women
For the purpose of the study, social participation has been divided into two: participation in (i) manual
social work and (ii) social welfare activities. Some prominent examples of the former include labor
contribution for enabling sustained drinking and irrigation water,renovation and maintenance of
public properties such as temples and stupas, etc. while the latter include activities like religious
offerings during auspicious days, annual festivals, etc.
Women participation in the social activities is almost as equal as men (Table 4). Considering the
situation where women participation is more than half of the total effort required, it was found that
households having one woman take the higher proportion, i.e. 36.3% compared to 30.7% and 25%
from households having two and three females respectively. Likewise, a descending percentage of
65%, 23.4% and 0% belongs to families having one, two and three male members respectively. Thus,
it can be said that women’s participation in manual social works increases as the number of both men
and women in a family declines.
Data depicted that women are taking a comparativelygreater role in social welfare activities compared
to men (Table 4).The chi-square test revealed that no significant difference existed between the roles
of women in social welfare activities and the number of women in a household. The resultant Pearson
Chi-Square value (i.e., 0.66) was more than the alpha value of 0.05. In situations where women
participate more than men, an increasing percentage of 29.8%, 36.4 and 40.4 % belong to households
having one, two and three male members respectively thus indicatinga direct relationship with the
number of men in a family.
Table 4: Women's participation in Social manual works and welfare activities
Never
About 25% of the total effort required
About 50% of the total effort required
About 75% of the total effort required
Women put the whole effort
Total
Response in Percentage
Physical work
Welfare activities
11.8
6.6
25
15.8
27.6
39.5
15.8
17.1
19.7
21.1
100
100
VII: Women’s Participation in Decision–making (zomdue)
Zomdue, a Dzongkha term, literally means meeting and it is at this meetings at various levels where
decisions are taken. Decision making here exclusively refer to decision making at the community
grass root level. Against 14.5% of women who participate in meetings indifferently than men, the
study revealed that a majority of 46% of women participate less than men in meetings officially
conducted in their locality while 39.5% participate more than men. From the majority where women
participate about ¼ in decision making, an ascending percentage of 18.20%, 40.6% and 58.3% belong
to family having one, two and three female members respectively. Consequently, where women
participate more than men, data indicate that families having one female member dominate by 45.4%
followed by families having two and three female members with 37.5% and 33.3% respectively, thus
showing an inverse relation between the women’s participation in the meetings and the number of
women in a family. So far as the number of children is concerned, it was found that, in cases where
women put the whole effort, women from families having three children bag the highest proportion
with 50% compared to 33.3% and 20% from those having two and one child respectively. However,

7. despite evidence of educated mothers in the area, there exit no significant relationship between the
level of education and the level of participation of women at grass root decision making process.
VIII: Women Empowerment
For the purpose of the study, women empowerment is measured exclusively through the extent of
women heading a family only. From the survey, it revealed that 54% of the women are the heads of
their family. In that sense, Women empowerment is high in Chapcha Gewog. In case of married
women, a man as a head of the family is in slight majority representing a figure of 54.5%.But in case
of unmarried, divorced and widowed women, their heads of the family are mostly women figuring
66.7% for unmarried, 87.5% for divorced and 85.7% for widowed women.There is an interesting
relationship between gender empowerment and land holding. Women are heading a family with a
larger proportion compared to men (75% against 16.7%) in case of households that have less than 1
acre of land. The proportion of women heading the family decreases as the land holding increase to 15 acres i.e., to 50.8% against 49.2%. The difference is very insignificant. But, as the land holding
increased to more than 6 acres, men have dominated the family by a percentage of 60% against 40%.
Therefore, it can be concluded that there is an inverse relationship between women empowerment and
land holding is greater as the land holding decreases. The number of women heading the family is
more than men, by 54.5 % in case of households having only one female member whereas the gender
empowerment in case of households having two women is equal. It is evident from here that where
there is only one female in a family, majority of them are heading the family. In case of households
having only one man, women are heading the family in a proportion of 55.2 %. Ironically, in case of
households having two and three men, men are heading the family in a proportion of 54.5 % and 69.2
% respectively. Therefore, it can be concluded that women empowerment is more pertinent in cases
where the number of men in a family is lesser. The study hasn’t found any relation between
empowerment and women’s level of education after testing both through chi-square test of
independence and fisher’s exact test (sig value = 0.96 and 0.871).
IX: Health
Health is an important factor in determining the socio economic role of women in the society. A
healthy woman breeds a healthy family. For the matter of the study, major health problems refer to
those health problems that pose significant hindrance on the normal working ability of a person. 24%
of women have no health problems at all while 6% reported that they have major health problems.
Majority of the women falling under all the marital status suffers from minor health problems yet
9.1% of the married women have major health problems compared to 0% for all the three different
categorized women. Study also depicted that respondents having major health problems are from
those households having more than 6 acres of cultivable land followed by those household owning
less than 1 acre (16.7%) while the least is from between this two extremes (3.4%). Lack of any trend
here somehow points out that health problems are not related to the intensity/frequency of having to
bear/not bear greater/lesser agricultural drudgery and responsibility. In case of households having
three female members, 33.3% are having no health problems against 18.8% and 18.2% from
households having two and one female members respectively. On the other end, it was observed that,
from households having one female member, those having major health problems corresponded to
13.6% as compared to a decreasing 6 % and 0 % from households having two and three female
members respectively. Therefore, this indicates that lesser the number of female in a household, the
greater is the health problem.
X: Education
How women’s (mother’s) education impacts the child performance at school is discussed here.
Children here refer to only those who are below the age of 18 during the time of the data collection.
The mother–child performance relation has been tested up to an extent of three children. As far as the
first child is concerned, child performance is significantly average and above average. Out of the 30

8. children who achieve average performance, 20 of them are from families where mother haven’t gone
to school at all. Similar is the case with children performing above average. The similar is the case
with the performance of their second child. Out of 12 children who are performing above average in
their schools, more than half of the total (8 children) is from those families where mother hasn’t
studies at all. Data relating to third child performance and its relation with mother’s education still
reveal the same trend as the case with the above two tables. However, despite evidence of a negative
relation between mother’s education and child performance, chi-square test as well as Fisher’s exact
test has been deployed in order to test whether the differences are statistically significant. Pearson
Chi-square tests in all the three cases gives value more than 0.05 (i.e., 0.325, 0.566 and 0.308
respectively). Fisher’s Exact test has also given similar values (i.e., 0.367, 0.691and 0.380). Since all
the values are larger than the alpha value of 0.05, we can conclude that the result is notsignificant.
Results of Oral History
In 1940’s and 1950’s there had been no significant difference between men and women in the
Chapcha Gewog. The statement was supported by AgayNachu who is 72 years old that women in
Gewog were considered as life blood in men’s life, as men cannot go forward without support of
women. He stated that 90% of the total labourforces in the agriculture were women. Similar view was
also given by AgayKhandu who is 70 years old that some women do the same work that were to be
done by men. He said that if men do the ploughing work, women had to do the bedding work, so there
was no difference between men and women in the past.
But AgayDrugaywho is 70 years old argued that somehow there was division of labour and
supported his statement stating, for instance men do hard labour that required physical strength and
women do the light work that does not required much physical strength. This view was also supported
by AngayChoki who is 68 years old that women do the work that required only less effort. Yet, she
also stated that women in Chapcha Gewog had performed roles some of which would otherwise had
been considered as men’s job like wola, chuseylamsey, etc., and if men were out of station then
women do participate in decision making (zomdu) too. So, AgayGontsey pointed out that even though
the contributions of women were more than men; their contribution had never been recognized and
appreciated because they were bound to do the work and women were not sent to school, it is mainly
because they were responsible to look after aged parents. Thus, all the interviewees have stated that
the household is joint production unit; if men do not support women, women cannot do anything and
vice-versa.
CONCLUSIONS
Women play a major role in the socio-economic development of rural Bhutan. Agriculture, being the
major occupation of rural households, it is but natural that agriculture forms the major source of
livelihood. Women have come a long way in molding the socio economic growth of the country and
it was found that women put an even more effort than men in rural development, in the various fields
of social and economic sectors. Yet, at this backdrop, it was found that women are not as financially
productive as men. And despitetheir high number and greater role, women’s participation in decision
making is paradoxically low. The study also found out that the higher women population has
compensated the lesser numbered men’s role in agricultureand livestock. Likewise, it was also found
that women’s role as well as empowerment is mostly prevalent in the small and lesser-numbered male
families. The study could not find any notable impact of education on women’s role in socio
economic development in Bhutan. The study could not find any notable impact of education on
women’s role in socio economic development in Bhutan. However, since the study was conducted
only in one Dzongkhag, the findings cannot be generalized to reflect situation prevalent in other parts
of the country. Given the critical role played by women in rural areas, it may be concluded from this
study that women are the building block of rural development.

9. Based on these findings, we suggest that the authorities and organizations concerned focus more on
women to accelerate the rural development since they play a role in socio-economic development as
compared to men. More attention should be given towards increasing the financial productivity of
women by introducing new platforms to showcase their strengths because other sources of income
generation apart from agriculture is very low. As modern education did not provide any significant
impact, it is imperative to question the present education system; their curricula and viability in the
country’s current socio-economic environment.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The team would like to sincerely thank the following organizations and individuals:
 Gaeddu College of Business Studies
 Agriculture Machinery Centre (AMC)
 DrManohar K. Ingale, Faculty of Gaeddu College of Business Studies, for being our project
mentor.
 Mr Karma Thinley (Programme Director of AMC) and MrsSonamPem (AMC), for
improving and introducing our paper to RNR Journal
 Gup, Mangmi, various tshogpas and chipoens under Chapcha Gewog, for helping us during
the data collection period
Lastly, we are highly indebted to all the respondents of our primary survey for sacrificing their
precious time and providing us with their sincere responses. It was solely because of their
contribution that this study is a readable piece. We also owe our utmost thanks to all those who have
made significant contributions to our project but whom we could not mention here.
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