Few years back, the
country launched ‘Happiness’ off its porch, so to speak, into the world and
convinced the greatest minds of some of the biggest nations at a UN General
assembly to factor happiness into development goals. As a result, the country
was also able to give the world a day to be marked as ‘Happiness Day.’
That was a commendable
achievement for Bhutan, a country that always strives to achieve development not
putting aside the ‘happiness of people.’ This is the nation’s unique
development philosophy of Gross national Happiness (GNH) in motion.
Looking inward to take
stock of the intricacies means observing the general state of people in the
country, and as such few areas do remain desirable.
For one, the element of
domestic violence is a tad disturbing to be seen, heard or read about in media
and institutional reports.
It seems that the indoor
closed-door activity might just become the open door, to the outside world to
present a different picture of the country. The incidents of domestic violence
are hiking in numbers, enough to put a dent in the nation’s otherwise winning
streak of a country and countrymen who are all sufficiently happy.
About 382 cases of
domestic violence cases was reported last year in the country and the figure is
a consistent filler for the stats that have pooled in to accumulate 2,020 reported domestic violence cases from
2009 to 2014.
The forensic unit of the
Jigme Dorji Wangchuck National Referral Hospital (JDWNRH) has seen 342 cases of
domestic violence last year and a total
of 2,397 cases were reported to the forensic unit from 2005 to 2013.
According to
non-governmental organization RENEW, domestic violence has increased over the
years with 374 case in 2012, 375 cases of domestic violence in 2013 and 382
cases in 2014.
The social ill is
prevalent in other forms too such as willful negligence of children by their
parents. This category saw 121 cases last year and 127 cases in the year before
that.
As alarmed as one should
be, it is also a good thing that the high numbers of reported cases has a good
side to it. And that would be because it hints that people are now willingly to
come out of their closed doors and closets to seek help and at the same time
contribute in bringing down the number of incidents nationwide.
Organization like RENEW
see increasing number of people visiting for help and it has followed suit in
doing the needful.
Volunteers are available in
20 dzongkhags to educate communities about the issue, especially the disadvantaged
lot comprising mainly women and vulnerable young girls. The affected are
provided shelter and counseling.
The organization has also
gone full circle in many cases to award justice through the system.
The picture of now is not
the most pleasantly painted version of how brand Bhutan is being promoted
outside but it is also not an incurable ill, as progress in its most positive
light is on the rise too.
To say the least, we can
all do better in this by taking into account the peace of mind, happiness of
the people immediate to us.
Published as Business Bhutan Editorial on February 14, 2015
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