Thanks for Treating us Well.

Lately I watched a movie known as The Stoning of Soraya. The movie is about how women in some parts of the world face irresistible torture (Stoning in the film), how they are over powered and how hundreds of women went through such tortures.

Stoning, or lapidation, is a form of capital punishment whereby a group throws stones at a person until the person dies. This punishment is one of many uncivil punishments, imposed to offenders in some parts of the world. Slower than other forms of execution, stoning is a form of execution by torture.

Women’s vulnerability and helplessness is clearly portrayed in the movie (I am not going to talk about the whole movie here). Women are considered low; they are made to live in their husband’s authority and treated like slaves, not life partners.  Despite many human rights protests and Conventions against women, this type of practice seems to still exist in some corners of the world. Women are tormented in the name of God and Religion.

Although our Religion also agrees that women are less fortunate than men (no concrete evidence though), I am very thankful that this fact is not very seriously taken as an excuse to victimize women in Bhutan. Of course we have minor domestic problems in which women fall victim in most of the cases but it is nothing compared to the treatment women receive in some part of the world.

We are considered tender, not Incapable and helpless. We have the power to treat our husbands as humans, not Gods. We don’t have to bow to our husbands, we are not tight lipped, we discuss matters with our husbands, and our sons respect their mothers. Most importantly we are not murdered on any reasonable or unreasonable grounds. Rather our mere presence is respected and our importance in society is highly emphasized.

I, as a Bhutanese woman, feel very lucky to be born here and I don’t resent for being born as a girl. Therefore, I would like to thank each and every men of Bhutan for their admiration and helping us to live with honor and integrity. I pray and Hope that our men will continue to support us and continue to resist violence against women. THANKS FOR TREATING US WELL!