Associate Professor, Department of Western History, University of Lucknow, India.
Bhutan, a small kingdom in the Himalayas offers an interesting study of a nation which has opened itself to development and modernization keeping abreast with globalization, liberalization and privatization in world yet it is a nation presently engaged in a unique experiment on how to maintain its cultural identity and not let forces of change overwhelm it. The position of women is also undergoing change with access to education and modern technologies. In short, social engineering is taking place. The paper will mainly focus on Bhutanese women in transition in social, economic and political sphere for Bhutan upholds the concept of gender equality. The status of women is largely influenced by the country's Buddhist traditions and values. They are represented in almost all the spheres of society but in lesser extent, agricultural sector being an exception. The effort will be to see how Bhutanese women can be integrated into development programs in all fields and not make them mere marginal beneficiaries of development strategies. The quest is to find out how from supportive level they can reach supervisory and managerial positions. Success in real terms will only be achieved if Gross National Happiness is adopted in letter and spirit by Bhutanese government. Along with it good governance and desire to bring gender equality will bring overall development for Bhutanese women.
