On December 10, 2020, Bhutan Queen Mother Guyalyum Sangay Choden Wangchuk was awarded the United Nations Population Award, 2020, in the individual category for her contributions to addressing the challenges of sexual health and gender violence. HelpAge India that works on elder care bagged the award in the organisational category.
Gyalyum Sangay Choden, popularly called Ashi Sangay (Princess Sangay) has achieved this rare feat for creating an environment for open discussion on sexual reproductive health in the Bhutan and for founding a volunteer organisation, called ‘Respect, Educate, Nurture and Empower Women’ (RENEW), which has been involved in spreading sexual education amongst students since its foundation in 2004, ensuring reproductive healthcare for women and counselling services. India has also supported RENEW through its embassy in Thimphu, and helped construct the RENEW crisis centre and Bhutan’s first shelter for victims of gender-based violence, known as ‘Gawailing Happy Home’.
Ashi Sangay is the youngest of four sisters, all married to the fourth King Jigme Singye Wangchuck, who had resigned in favour of his son Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck in 2006. However, they engage themselves with public and charity work. Ashi Sangay’s work is supported by the Bhutanese government and foreign grants.
In 1999, the Queen Mother was appointed UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador. Recounting the beginning of her fieldwork, she says sexual and reproductive issues were considered as ‘taboo subjects’ in Bhutan. The first case of HIV/AIDS in the country was detected in 1993, but it was hardly spoken of. The numbers had grown to about 627 cases in 2019, which is a matter of serious concern in a small country with a population of just 7,71,000 people.
Bhutanese women enjoy a status, a place in the workforce and property rights that are considered more equitable than much of the SAARC region. But there are growing concerns about violence. In this context, a 2017 study by the Bhutan’s National Commission for Women and Children found that as many as 14 per cent of women surveyed had suffered physical violence in 2017, 4.5 per cent suffered sexual violence and more than 72 per cent had never sought help from anyone for it. Ashi Sangay is trying to address this even as RENEW grapples with the new challenge of the Coronavirus pandemic. Although Bhutan has not had a single Covid-19 related death, and kept its patient count below 400, the Queen Mother says an increase in domestic violence against women and girls during were the lockdown, has been a growing concern. So, her group of about 3,000 volunteers are trying to visit as many homes as possible in order to monitor the situation.
———————–
Each year, the Committee for the United Nations Population Award honours an individual and/or institution in recognition of outstanding contributions to population and reproductive health issues and solutions. The Award was established by the General Assembly in 1981, in resolution 36/201, and was first presented in 1983. It consists of a gold medal, a diploma, and a monetary prize. The Committee for the United Nations Population Award consists of 10 UN Member states, with United Nations Secretary-General and UNFPA Executive Director serving as ex-officio members. Nominations for the award are accepted through December 31 of each year. UNFPA serves as its secretariat.
In the last 40 years, only two Indians have been given this award in the individual category since the award was established in 1981—Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1983, and industrialist-philanthropist J.R.D. Tata in 1992.
——————
Courtesy: The Hindu