Yesterday, Thimphu dzongkhag court’s Bench II had its first preliminary hearing on the case of a 14-year-old who was raped and impregnated by her 45 year-old step father along with battery charges.

The case was charge sheeted on Monday by the Women and Child Protection Unit, RBP.

The case has been registered under Section 183 on the offence of rape of a child above 12 years of age, along with a battery case under Section 158.

The girl was raped sometime last year at the age of 13 apby her step father and now at 14, she is 33 weeks pregnant.

The case has a twist. A case of wife battery was registered at the WCPU on July 11, but in the course of investigation, the police found the battered victim’s little daughter pregnant.

The minor used to live with her real father but that year, for her winter vacation, she had gone to live with her mother who is now married to the accused. Before the incident occurred, the mother had gone to Paro and it was then that the accused had coerced and raped his step daughter.

The mother was believed to have been unaware of the incident but learnt of it later when her child was carrying a child. The case was not reported as the accused was the sole bread earner and the mother never confronted him.

According to the WCPU, the mother had been battered by the accused several times in the past but it was only this time that the case was reported.
The WCPU referred the girl to the Thimphu hospital and, according to Dr Pakila Drukpa of the Forensic Unit, the girl risked chances of a high risk pregnancy as she was a minor and will have to come for internal check-up from time to time.

The girl was referred to RENEW on July 11 and the NGO has taken her under their wings and also in their shelter home. According to RENEW, the girl was doing fine and was going for regular checks to the hospital. The Officer in Charge of the WCPU, Lieutenant Karma Rigzin, said the child had practically been robbed of everything. “As a result of her pregnancy, she has been dropped out of school, which has also posed a risk to her life and, most of all, she has been robbed of her childhood.”

The OC said the girl initially seemed scared and reluctant to speak while being interviewed.

“A good measure for preventing such acts could be through advocacy and educating people. Having sexual intercourse with a minor is a crime so, when the crime is committed, ignorance cannot be used as an excuse. This is why, as a preventive measure, the RBP has started an advocacy programme in schools and we plan to later extend this programme nationwide,” said the OC.

According to the Penal Code of Bhutan, the grading of statuary rape (sex with a child below 12) is a felony of the second degree, which is punishable with an imprisonment term of between nine and 15 years.

Sexual intercourse with a child above 12 is graded under felony of the third degree, in which the sentencing will be an imprisonment term of between five and nine years. Child molestation is a felony of the fourth degree and the offence of sexual harassment is graded under petty misdemeanour.

“We see cases of minors being raped, sexually harassed and molested but most of these go unreported. Personally, it is very disturbing when cases like these come up,” said Lieutenant Karma Rigzin.

Cases of minors being raped have been increasing but the law does not dole out punishment more severe than the existing ones as the ultimatum.

It stresses more on reforming the guilty.

6 June 2008, Tashi Wangmo delves into the differences between punishment for rape of minors and religious sacrilege. Should the two crimes be treated alike?

There is no holistic approach to the issue of rape, especially that of children.

This year, on May 18, a four-year-old girl was raped in Phuentsholing. The 16 year-old accused, being a juvenile, will receive only half the sentence if convicted.

Last year, a 28-month-old infant was raped and thrown into an irrigation canal. The rapist was given a sentence of 14 and a half years.

In 2006, Tandin Gyaltshen, was sentenced to 18 years and ordered to pay a compensation of Nu 255,500 to the parents of his 11-month-old victim.

Except for those found guilty of murder, none of the perpetrators were given the life sentence.

Between 2005 and 2008, more than 84 rape cases were reported across the kingdom, of which 71 were forwarded to court. Nine were on statutory rapes and 11 victims were minors above the age of 12.

According to the Penal Code of Bhutan, life imprisonment is given to those guilty of a felony of the first degree.

First degree felonies include urder, treason or terrorism, iolation of nangtens such as the Ku, Sung, Thuk-ten and Zung, and illegal manufacturing of weapons of mass destruction.

However, Section 181 and 182 of the Penal Code of Bhutan grades statutory rape as a felony of the second degree, punishable with a nine-year imprisonment term at the least and close to 15 years at the most. The rape of a child above the age of 12 is graded under Section 183 and 184 as a felony of the third degree. The prison term is for this is a minimum of five years and a maximum of nearly nine years.

Is that enough? This is a question that many ask though the code’s major objectives claim to help reinstate dignity to victims of crime, increase possibilities of rehabilitation of offenders, and reform them. It is also seen as a measure to decriminalise people and, thus to have a peaceful and safe society for all. But not all see rape in the same light, stressing more on statutory rape which people regard as most extreme.

According to DPT’s Wangdue MP, Passang Thrinlee, rape was a heinous crime, should not be taken as less than murder and should be looked into seriously. “Ours is a small society, where everyone knows everyone and when a crime is committed, it psychologically destroys a victim’s whole life,” he said. “Raping a child below 12 is barbarious and the sentence for perpetrators in such cases should be equivalent to that meted out to descecrators of lhakhangs.”

Gasa’s Damcho Dorji, a former Attorney General, said the code was severe about rape and that I was standard and for which there need be no further amendment. “I think the  court should not give the offenders the impression that it is being liberal but, at the same time, it is everybody’s duty to see to this problem. For example, the government needs to do research on people such as rapists and what it can do for them,” he said. The Paro Drangpon, Lungten Dubgyur, said that the Penal Code of Bhutan was better than that of most countries.

“The objectives and purposes of modern criminal sentencing include incapacitation, reformation, prevention, and maintenance of public peace and order,” he said. “So the question of whether statutory rape merited life imprisonment or not depended on which school of thought one identified with, liberal or conservative.”

The Drangpon added that sometimes even when the crime was gruesome, the Penal Code of Bhutan had to be followed. But there were exceptions in extreme and unique cases, where there was room for reasonable judgement and sentencing passed by the court based on justifiability and fairness.

The National Commission for Women and Children (NCWC), which sees to the all types of violence against women and children, works in tandem with the RBP Women and Child Protection Unit and the judiciary.

Its Program Officer, Chhoeki Penjor, said, “Our first step has been to work with the police and judiciary and now we are hoping to collaborate with local leaders to sensitise them on the CRC and the CEDRAW that covers all violence against women.”

Chhoeki Penjor said, she personally felt that the laws could be reviewed by people from relevant agencies to see whether the punishment in place was sufficient or needed to be increased.

“If people voice out their concerns then maybe amendments can be made. For me, a rape is a rape, a violation of a person’s right, and legislation in place needs to be strengthened.”

Karma Choden, counsellor for RENEW, said the code’s sentencing of a rapist as appropriate but not the rape of a minor. “It is inhuman, and such offenders should be given life imprisonment and made to pay the compensation.”

3 June, 2008 - She was 17, she was vulnerable, she was naive and she got pregnant. Yangchen (name changed), a student in one of the high schools in Thimphu, had to take one of the most difficult decisions in her life when she found out she was four weeks pregnant from what she calls a “puppy love”.

A million thoughts went through her mind as she mulled over her situation. Telling her family would mean being thrown out of her home for bringing shame, confiding with her friends may have left her with no friends, expulsion from school if teachers came to know about it and criticism from society if she kept the child.

She had only one option.

These psychological traumas are the reasons why last week, on the morning of May 22, a dead baby was found in a white jute bag abandoned behind a bush above the national pension and provident fund colony (NPPF).

Although Bhutanese law protects the unmarried mother and children born out of wedlock, abortion is illegal here and mothers abandoning babies or aborting their pregnancies is nothing new in . Unwanted and teenage pregnancies are the core reasons for such acts, says

Thimphu national referral hospital’s psychiatrist, Dr Damber Kumar Nirola. “These people have a psychological insecurity because of our culture and society and thus this act.”

Observers point out that, in villages, children born out of wedlock somehow get accepted but modernisation has brought along a different kind of attitude. “Are our moral values changing, or are we refusing to accept people with these kinds of problems, and acting worse than uneducated folks?” They also say that it’s difficult to access contraceptives or such measures. “If you go to the hospital, you know how judgmental our doctors and nurses can be,” said one.

Lack of sex education and communication between parents and children could also be factors contributing to such problems.

An official of the national commission for women and child (NCWC) said that she couldn’t comment much on this issue because there were no data to base their comments on.

As for abandonment cases the commission has come across, it is financial reasons that push a mother to leave her child behind. “Either mothers can’t take care of children because they are a single parent, or the child is born out of wedlock, or maybe off an affair,” said the official.

Dr Nirola said that, although no concrete study has been done to find out who these women are, research shows that those usually from low socio-economic strata with poor educational background and who lack enough information on or are ignorant about sex, resort to such means.

When a woman or a girl gets pregnant accidentally and doesn’t know how to handle it, she undergoes a very severe psychological stress. First, to hide the pregnancy, and then the fear of what to do with the unwanted baby they can’t take home.

“This goes into their minds and rather than having to go through all this, they’d rather leave the baby,” said Dr Nirola. “Such stress causes conflict in the mind and when they are unable to resolve it right away, the mind perceives the situation as a very dangerous thing. So lots of hormones get secreted into your body, which makes your body react in a certain manner. When that happens, your thinking gets blurred, and you have lots of negative irrational thoughts. That is why people tend to do such things.”

The police blame modernisation, change in lifestyle and rise in entertainment outlets for bedding the seeds of such trends. NCWC also feels that this could be happening with all changes and influx of different cultures into the country.

“These days, our women folk, both educated and not, have become quite outgoing. But it’s not necessary these kind of women commit such crimes. It’s an outcome of a biological need,” said the crime superintendent (SP) lieutenant-colonel Dorji Wangchuk.

SP Dorji Wangchuk said that many women become victims of rape because they don’t know what they are doing and are usually intoxicated. “Having casual sex is seen as a development. They get pregnant and fear the parents, society, friends and, by the time they realize, it will be too late and then these things happen.”

While ignorance rather than innocence may be the core reason, such an offence is categorized as a misdemeanor and, if guilty, one can be sentenced to a term of a minimum of one year to a maximum of three years imprisonment.

In the eyes of the law, it is still a crime, no matter under what circumstances a child is conceived. “It’s explicit law and, whatever the situation, if someone is found guilty, she will be punished.”

In 1999, the government officially legalised medical termination of pregnancy if it threatened the life of the mother or when the fetus showed structural abnormalities.

The annual health bulletin 2007 reported 811 cases of spontaneous abortions, which also includes medically terminated pregnancies. Spontaneous abortion is a natural end of pregnancy and occurs without any external factors.

Legalizing abortion, legal people say, would lose the very concept of being a Buddhist.

Most city residents, Kuensel spoke to, feel the same way. “Everyone would do it then and it’s equal to murder,” said a shopkeeper Namgay Pem, 35. Santa, 55, agrees, “They should be given counseling rather than shouting or getting angry at them, which could even lead to suicide.”

Dr Nirola feels that it would make some difference. “If it was legal, then people would have opted for abortion before the child was fully matured. They could actually be safe rather than deliver and leave the baby or terminate pregnancy at an advanced stage. But this doesn’t mean I recommend abortion. As a Buddhist country, we’re not supposed to take life and that’s very clear,” adds Dr Nirola.

Some young people feel differently. “What’s the use of being a mother if she isn’t prepared and can’t take care of the baby?” asks Ugyen, 22, a private sector employee.

The seven- to eight-month old dead baby found above NPPF is the first reported case this year. Last year, the police recorded one case and the district court has not sentenced anyone for such crimes.

As for Yangchen, she hopes that young girls and women are smart enough not to have to go through what she endured.

Coinciding with the launch of the State of the World’s Children’s report, 2008 the National Commission for Women and Children in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and UNICEF is organizing an Art Competition on the Theme “Child Survival”.

The Winners (1st, 2^nd, and 3^rd) for both the categories will be invited to participate in the launch of the SOWC in mid July, 2008 tentatively in Thimphu and NCWC will bear all expenses for their participation. 

Following are the details for the Competition.

Theme:                         Child Survival (State of the World’s Children’s—Survival)

Medium:                        Any of the Following (Water Colour, Acrylic, Colour pen etc…)

Size:                             A 2-------- (42cm X 60cm) Please do not role your Art Work!!!

Categories:                    Category “A” Class V to Class VIII

                                    Category “B” Class IX to Class XIII

Submission

Date:                            16^th June, 2008

Submission

Place/Address:              Mr. Tshering Namgyal, Asst. Program Officer,

                                    National Commission for Women and Children                
                                    PO Box 556,Thimphu

More information:           Please log on to www.ncwcbhutan.net

                                                   OR

                                   Contact: Mr. Tshering Namgyal

                                     Tel No: 334549/334551

                                    Fax No: 334709

                                 Email: tshenamgay@ncwcbhutan.net, tshenamgay@gamil.com

Please note that:

1.       The winners (1st, 2^nd, and 3^rd) for both the categories will be awarded attractive cash prizes.

2.       A short explanation on the Art will be required

3.   All Art pieces will be exhibited at the launch.

                                                                         Offtg. Executive Director.

Launch of the State of the World’s Children Report 2008 

The National Commission for Women and Children (NCWC) and UNICEF will jointly organize the launch of The State of the World’s Children (SOWC) 2008 towards the mid of July 2008 at Thimphu, tentatively. 

The theme for the SOWC 2008 is “Child Survival” which examines the state of child survival and primary health care for children, with a strong emphasis on trends in child mortality. It also appraises the lessons from failures and successes in child survival over the past century.

The report states that everyday about 26,000 children die before their fifth birthday which is about 9.7 million young lives per year resulting in immense humanitarian, economic and political consequences.

A majority of these children die from preventable and treatable diseases like pneumonia, diarrhoea, malaria and measles. These diseases are mainly caused by malnutrition which weakens a child’s ability to ward off illnesses and lack of safe water and sanitation contributes to more than half of these deaths. 

The Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 4 aims for a two-third reduction of under-five mortality rates between 1990 and 2015 by implementing child survival intervention strategies. The SOWC 2008 report describes the impact of simple, affordable life-saving measures, such as exclusive breastfeeding, immunization, insecticide-treated bed nets and vitamin A supplementation to reduce under-five child mortality. 

The report also emphasizes the need to involve local communities. These communities generate necessary demand for quality health care and their engagement is vital if marginalized and remote populations are to be reached.

If the world is to meet the Millennium Development Goal-4; reduce global rate of under-five mortality by two-thirds between 1990-2015, then in the next seven years the number of child deaths must be cut in half- to fewer than 13,000 deaths per day or fewer than 5 million a year. 

The report, which was first launched earlier this year in Geneva, also highlights the need to combat HIV/AIDS and violence against children.

The SOWC is annual report published by UNICEF to underscore the need to position children’s issues at the heart of the international agenda. 

In the launch will be an advocacy event with the participation of the new parliament members, youth groups, and the media. A painting competition on the ‘Child Survival’ theme among school children in
Thimphu will be conducted and their works exhibited during the launch event.    

2 April, 2008 - Thimphu district court sentenced five soldiers of the Royal Bhutan Army to a prison term ranging from nine months to 13 years yesterday for the gang rape of a 16-year-old girl in Thimphu last year.

The Royal Bhutan Police filed the case on January 1, charging the five suspects, aged 25-32, with the gang rape of a minor. One of the accused, believed to be the victim’s boy-friend, also faced an additional charge for aiding and abetting in the commission of the crime.

The incident had occurred in Samarzingkha, two kilometres from Thimphu town, on the night of July 2 and the Thimphu police arrested five soldiers at the crime scene following an anonymous tip-off. The victim, who is from Zhemgang, was taken to the JDWNRH, where doctors confirmed her rape.

One of the convicts, Tsenden Dorji, who claimed to be the victim’s boy-friend, was sentenced to 13 years for aiding and abetting in the crime, the rape of a minor, and for harassment. “Since he was the one who brought the victim to Samarzingkhar, where the gang rape had occurred, the crime originated from his deeds,” said the Bench II district court judge, Jangchu Norbu. “Although he claims that he had consensual intercourse with the victim, but consent of a minor is not legal consent and that is an offence.”

After Tsenden Dorji had committed the offence with the victim in a car, the court found that his friend Dorji Tshering, having witnessed it, attempted to rape the victim. For Dorji Tshering, the court altered the charges from gang rape to attempted rape and he was sentenced to seven years behind bars.

While running away from Dorji Tshering, the 16-year-old victim was said to have caught the attention of two other soldiers on duty that night. Kinley and Sonam Chogyal dragged the victim below the road in Samarzingkha. Although the two convicts did not confess to have raped the victim, they accepted that they had taken her below the road to make a special sexual exchange, according to the judge. The Bench II judge said that there was enough circumstantial evidence against the two soldiers and also the expert opinion and evidence submitted by the doctor. Both Kinley and Sonam Chogyal have been sentenced to 13 years in prison for the gang rape of a minor and for harassment.

The fifth soldier involved in the case, Sangay Wangdue, was acquitted yesterday after having stayed nine months and 15 days in custody. The judge said that, although he was not involved in the gang rape, he had seen the two rapists below the road and also while she was running away from the scene. “He failed to assist or cooperate in the legal investigations for which he has already received a punishment of nine months in custody and, therefore, he has now been acquitted,” said the judge.

Drangpon Jangchu Norbu said that the soldiers were given the maximum sentence because a uniform personnel’s primary duty is to look after the security of the country and the individual citizen. However, the court observed, they defied their primary duties. The court also expressed its appreciation to RENEW and the police’s women and child protection unit for looking after the victim. The victim is now continuing her studies, according to officials of RENEW.

The convicts have ten days to appeal to the high court against the district court judgement.

“By looking at the data collected so far we can safely say that there has been some positive impact,” said one of the public health officials. “But for a more informative report a detailed analysis has to be carried out.”

To support the statement, the officials pointed out that the iron supplementation programme, where school children were given a weekly dosage of iron and folic acid supplementation of 60 milligram and 400 microgram in each tablet, was a ‘supervised administration’ – meaning that the tablets are taken in presence of supervisors like teachers in schools.

The data readied for the study were collected on a quarterly basis from about 20 schools in four dzongkhags which had been randomly selected for monitoring when the supplementation programme began in September 2004.

The monitoring, according to the public health officials, is based on a single indicator – the hemoglobin status. “If we see an increase in the hemoglobin level it means there is an improvement of iron deficiency which is the main cause for anaemia,” an official said.

Public health officials also pointed out the final indepth study would indicate as to what could be further done to improve the situation.

The nationwide strategy for anaemia control was triggered off by a study conducted in 2002 by the health ministry that revealed iron deficiency as the most common cause for anaemia in the country.

The systematic study covering 1,800 men, 1,800 women and 1,800 children from 10 districts and two urban areas highlighted the magnitude of the problem.

The study showed 81 percent anaemia in children between six months to five years, 55 percent in pregnant women and 28 percent in men.

Malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies are still considered a major health problem in Bhutan, especially among children and pregnant women.

The iron supplementation programme targeted schools as they were considered the ideal place to reach children. The programme has also ventured into the non-formal education centres to reach out to as many women as possible.

The court also convicted a 32-year-old man for six months imprisonment for assisting the crime, which took place on December 21. In her statement to the court, the woman stated that she was returning to her cattle in Yubinang after attending her father’s funeral in Merak when the man followed her, threatened and raped her.

The victim, accompanied by her five-year old daughter, had halted at a place called Murphel in Merak and had continued their journey the next day. When they reached a suspension bridge between Chaling and Yubinang, they had met two men who spoke to them in Dakpakha (language of one of the communities of Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh).

“They teased us and offered to accompany us,” she told the court during the trial.

On reaching a junction the woman was about to take the Changmi route when the main culprit, this time alone, reappeared. She immediately changed direction and took the Yubinang route but the man kept following her.

“We tried to run back, but the man blocked our way and grabbed me,” she told court. “I asked my daughter for my knife, which was in my bag. But he snatched the bag and threw it,” she added.

After much struggle, the woman had managed to free herself.

“When we reached a place called Nakporong, I saw the friend of the man who was with him earlier. I asked for help, but he waved at me and left,” she said.

The culprit then caught her by her hair and threatened to kill both the mother and the daughter before raping her in front of her daughter.

“My daughter, who was very scared, ran to a corner and wept throughout,” she told court. On December 23, on their way to the gewog office to lodge a complaint, they spotted the rapist and his friend extracting timber in Gongsaphangma, a nearby village. However, they denied the accusation when the relatives questioned them.

The culprits were arrested on December 28 after the village mangmi reported it to the police.

According to drangpon Duba Dukpa, the main culprit was charged for additional three months for lying to authorities and seven months in lieu of the Nu. 21,000 compensation, for raping a married woman.

“The friend was charged for three months for lying to the lawful authorities and another three months for not rendering help to the person in danger,” said the drangpon.

These were some of the concerns highlighted through presentations on the first day of the ongoing three-day workshop on violence against women in Thimphu on December 29, where more than 35 representatives from the judiciary, police, health, media, international agencies and non-governmental organisations are participating.

The objective of the workshop, however, was not to focus on the degree of domestic violence in the country, according to the executive director of the National Commission for Women and Children (NCWC), Dr. Rinchen Chophel. He explained that the regular reports in the media, increasing number of cases recorded with the health and cases reported to the police already indicate the magnitude of the issue.

“Through this workshop we are trying to contextualise the issue by bringing the relevant stakeholders – judiciary, police and the health – together taking cue from the incidences of violence that have occurred,” said the executive director.

Another important objective, he said, was to build a “mechanism of clear understanding and a common ground among the three stakeholders to ensure that a right attitude is developed”. “By right attitude, we mean their perception on violence against women,” he explained.

With resource persons and consultants from outside the country, to throw in more impetus to the workshop, the workshop would see a lot of exercises and group work among the participants. “Each exercise is going to bring forth the stakeholders together and express their inner perception to this issue,” said one of the organisers.

Dr. Rinchen Chophel said that, at the end of the three-day workshop they hoped to achieve a clear understanding of the stakeholders’ different views and iron out the gaps and difficulties. “Our priority is to set up a strong networking and support mechanism to be able to address the violence against women issue with greater impact,” he said.

Addressing the gathering at the inaugural session, Chief Justice Lyonpo Sonam Tobgye, said that awareness efforts on the ill-effects of violence against women should be carried out through education and by providing adequate safeguards in the existing laws. “Violence against women amounts to the destruction of the very root of the family itself, bringing down the core structures of a society that nurtures and supports us,” he said. “I believe that such forum would give real impetus to the issue, generate practical solutions and empower the victims.”

Jointly organised by NCWC and RENEW (respect, educate, nurture, and empower women) and supported by UN Trust Fund, UNRC, UNDP and UNFPA, the workshop will conclude tomorrow, December 31.

The disease today affected more people than it infected, that the psychological suffering of the family and the drain on the resources and time was immeasurable and more than a health problem it was also a political, cultural and socio-economic problem.

The issue today bordered on changing the behaviour of the society where media had the vital role to break the silence that shrouded the disease and propel it from a personal-private level discussion to a more advanced public level.

This paradigm shift also reflects on the Bhutanese campaign against the disease which became evident when on Monday in Thimphu, the Information and Communication Bureau (ICB) of the health ministry briefed the media on the disease status in the country, strategies of campaign against the disease, and in particular the role of the media in promoting positive behaviour and behavioural change communication.

“In Bhutan stigma comes from ignorance-the fear that it could be transmitted through air, water etc., we have to dispel this fear,” said joint director of ICB, Sonam Phuntsho. “Communication is the key social vaccine in working towards prevention.”

Though UNAIDS estimates 500 HIV-infected people in Bhutan, 90 had been reported till date. But it was alarming to note that there existed a high rate of sexually transmitted infections revealing the almost non-existent ‘safe-sex’ concept in Bhutanese society.

The low condom use coupled with liberal sexual norms, increasing trends in commercial sex work, low literacy and lack of awareness, massive youth population, porous border and high stigma were seen as setting the stage for potentially large scale HIV epidemic in the country.

The emerging problem of substance abuse had taken a serious turn when this year two cases detected were among intravenous drug users.

Equally worrying was the fact that the disease in the country had a younger and a more feminine face. Meaning that more than a third (88 percent) infected were in the economically productive age group and there were more female in the group below 29 years of age. It had also touched the whole cross section of the Bhutanese society, business enterprises, armed forces, educated government and corporation employees to farmers, sex-workers including unemployed youth and it had been recorded in 15 of the 20 dzongkhags.

Programme officer of National HIV/AIDS Commission, Tshewang Dorji, presented that 94 percent of the infection transmission was through unprotected heterosex and seven percent from maternal. Of the 10 HIV positive mothers, nine had given birth to infected babies.

In this wake, the Public Health Division’s strategic direction for the next three years was to increase condom use, increase voluntary testing and address HIV misconception to reduce the stigma that it carried.

The first HIV case was reported in the country in 1993 and so far 22 have died. The first mother to child infection was detected in 2002 and first two cases among intravenous drugs users were detected in 2005. Today 13 patients were under antiretroviral therapy. It costs Nu.3000 a patient a month.

Numerical data do not lend themselves to analysis easily, especially in a gender context, pointed out Prof. Savitri Goonesekere during her presentation. She said an approach that would combine both would aid gender analysis and influencing of policy.

Sangeeta Thapa of UNIFEM (UN Development Fund for Women) said that data based on the three prioritised areas were more abstract and needed to be properly streamlined for a better understanding. For instance, on violence rather than the number of violence taking place, it should cover causes of violence, perpetrators, attitude and behaviour of those involved in law, etc.

“This calls for a lot of work and countries may have to conduct in depth research, sample surveys and pilot projects to get those information,” she said.

The seven-member countries presented papers on the progress made and the respective countries also identified nodal agencies responsible to establish the data.

Lack of gender disaggregated data was a common problem among all the member states. “We have information, but either we did not segregate them by sex or we did not look at them from gender perspective,” said Dr. Rinchen Chophel, a member of the Bhutanese delegation.

UNIFEM also presented a demo of the prototype mode which would allow the countries to host an extensive range of information pertaining to gender. The member countries were allocated three months time frame to comment or endorse the prototype after which it would be modified and finalised.

Some participants voiced concerns in fulfilling the time period.

The channel of communication, which in this case, was the foreign ministers of the member countries, was seen as a bottleneck in achieving quick and easy work flow.

“But we hope to continue with the same commitment to meet the 2007 deadline,” said Sangeeta Thapa.

The need to establish a gender database to assist the formulation of national and regional policies and programmes had been first recognised by the heads of member states during the 10th SAARC Summit in 1998.

The first SAARC-UNIFEM gender database meeting was held in Kathmandu in 2005 where the member countries prioritised the thematic areas and agreed to work towards creating a “one-stop gender data-shop” of all the member countries which would produce reliable, accurate and technically sound data.