SONAM PENJOR | Thimphu
As the country prepares for the next National Council (NC) elections this year, 37-year-old Namgay Pem from the Gelephu Gewog under Sarpang Dzongkhag has expressed her intention to contest for the NC elections.
She is one of the aspiring candidates who have announced her candidacy recently. She has a bachelor’s in business administration from Tamil Nadu in India.
The Election Commission of Bhutan said the NC elections for the fourth Parliament will be conducted in early 2023.
Having worked for nine years in a corporate office and four years as a business entrepreneur, Namgay Pem said it is time for her generations to come up for serving the country. “So, I aspire to become a strong pillar to support the further development and upgrading of the country.”
As new generations are raised with new knowledge and experience, she claimed that since the first NC was founded 15 years ago, all the Members of Parliament (MP) were extremely capable and experienced, and they had made contributions to the nation for the benefit of the people. “I have always understood how important it is to serve the Tsa -Wa-Sum.”
“I have always been connected with my community and people and this is something I have learned from my grandfather, uncle, and father who served as in different portfolio including Dzongda, Drangpon, Dzongrab, and gup in early days,” said Namgay Pem, adding she was raised and has been living in her community for the past 30 years.
She shared her belief that assisting women and those in need has always been a duty for her, one that her parents instilled in her as a child and that she has carried out daily. She also urges more women to come forward.
“I have experience working as a temporary teacher, marketing manager, HR and ADM manager as well as an entrepreneur businesswoman, and I have seen that many women are not particularly eager or bold enough to come out due to cultural pressure and peer pressure.”
She continued by saying that while taking care of the family and raising children is important, it is not adequate in today’s economy due to the high costs of existence. Instead, women must have bravery and collaborate with their partners or families to make survival more bearable.
“As a result, I have always pushed the females I have met to be braver and bolder. Additionally, I have been an entrepreneur myself and a volunteer member of RENEW from Sarpang Dzongkhag for the past 7 years.
She listed the reasons why she was unable to come forward, even though many women are not doing so for any of the issues. According to Namgay Pem, there isn’t much that can be done but to take on more responsibilities because of the cultural pressure that a woman’s role is the foundation of a family, responsible, and caregiver at home, and the responsibility of a woman is an honor that is respected by many family members. That is the true power of a woman.
In addition, she said that compared to their male counterparts, most women have only just begun to stand on their own and that there aren’t many female role models for us to aspire to. “Which is one of the reasons I am a prospective candidate and have turned into an idol to all the women.”
In contrast to men, she claimed that women have a finite amount of time in their life since, once married, they must care for their offspring.