Legal framework
Policies/strategies and plan
of action
! Bhutan is a party to the
Convention on Elimination
! Constitution of the Kingdom o f A l l F o r m s o f
of Bhutan Discrimination Against ! National Plan of Action for
Gender (NPAG).
! The Marriage Act of Bhutan Women (CEDAW).
was enacted in 1980 and ! The RGoB has adopted
! Bhutan is a party to the
amended in 1996; the SAARC Convention on policy, organizational and Bhutan Citizenship Acts in Prevention and Combating procedural measures to 1958, 1977 and 1985; the Trafficking in Women and ensure the continuity of Inheritance Act in 1980; and Children for Prostitution policies and programmes the Penal Code of Bhutan 2002. related to women's and
enacted in 2004. children's issues.
Bhutan
COUNTRY POLICY AND STRATEGIES FOR COMBATING GBV
COUNTRY SITUATION OF GBV
! The Gender Pilot Study (GPS) 2001, the first were found in the areas of education,
study on gender in the country conducted by employment and public decision-making. Gross National Happiness Commission ! A study on gender stereotypes and prejudices to (GNHC) & the National Statistics Bureau assess women's low participation in (NSB), found that although no overt gender governance.
Government initiatives
Civil society organization initiatives
services. Health care services in Bhutan are based on integrated primary health care and referral The National Commission for Women and
curative systems. Bhutan is among those very few Children (NCWC) established through a special
countries where women's life expectancy at birth government order in 2004 is the national (66.2) is higher than that of men (66). With the mechanism for coordinating and monitoring
overall goal to reduce maternal/neonatal activities related to women and child rights, and
mortality/morbidity during pregnancy and reporting to treaty bodies.
childbirth, a plan of action for safe motherhood Bhutan has a comprehensive range of social, programme has been prepared.
economic, political and legal frameworks that seek to further enhance the relatively equal status
of women in Bhutan, and eliminate any The National Women's Association of Bhutan discrimination and violence that might exist (NWAB) and other nongovernmental against women and girls. organizations such as RENEW (Respect, Educate, Nurture and Empower Women),Tarayana The RGoB is working with its development
Foundation, and the Youth Development Fund are partners in developing disaggregated data in all
also concerned with improving women's socio-sectors. Training and capacity building have been
economic conditions and promoting their provided to improve data collection.
participation in development activities. The RGoB has undertaken a number of measures
to enhance women's health status. Emphasis is Department of Family Health and Research
World Health Organization, Regional Office for South-East Asia World Health House, Indraprastha Estate
Mahatma Gandhi Marg, New Delhi-110002 Phone: 91 11 23370804, Ext 26301
