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Colour and pattern are always associated with elegance and beauty of the women in any society and Bhutan is no exception. And I have always appreciated our Bhutanese women the way they dress with the passage of time and evolution. They all look much more elegant with the numerous designs and patterns in the Bhutanese textile in recent years. On formal occasions with
more elegant dresses with equally patterned Rachu would adorn the Bhutanese attires for women even better. In fact one of the biggest fashions in Bhutan today is the variety and celebration of our women’s dress.
The news of prohibition on use of Rachu except Ada Rachu seems to be sign of suppression on the general population of women in the country. Have we consulted our women on their own issue in this regard? Are their sentiments respected and their views protected adequately when decisions are taken probably by the male dominated profession-the Cultural Officers. Do we really have convincing research results show that why Ada rachu was worn by common people during those times and does it worth the hurting the sentiment of our women merely because one single reason? The reasons cited the Kuensel are not convincing, atleast for me. If we have to adhere to only old cultures, I must confess that we shouldn’t be wearing anything, because that was the real culture when we actually began our civilization. Going by the culture from what I have heard from my old parents and elderly people in the village, neither men nor women wore shoes, they all could only wear Khasha Gho and Kira because people could not afford and options were too minimal during those times. Shall we start wearing those in the name of preserving our culture and stop wearing shoes because that is not our culture for common people. Today, we have the option and everyone can afford to buy in all sorts of variety. Does it really help us to preserve our culture? What about our culture of weaving Rachu in varieties of patterns for decades and what about their right to creativity? We also know the way Rachu is worn by certain level people and common people are entirely different and that itself shows we have great respect and our culture of hierarchy is maintained.
Bhutan as a Buddhist nation, we believe in impermanence and equality for all human beings. So where does the permanence on culture come from. Culture must evolve with time and passage and society must accept the change in culture. Our parents and our elders have graciously accepted the change over time in all aspects and that is why, Bhutan is one of the most liberal nations. With democracy, we should be progressing not regressing.
Colour and pattern are always associated with elegance and beauty of the women in any society and Bhutan is no exception. And I have always appreciated our Bhutanese women the way they dress with the passage of time and evolution. They all look much more elegant with the numerous designs and patterns in the Bhutanese textile in recent years. On formal occasions with
more elegant dresses with equally patterned Rachu would adorn the Bhutanese attires for women even better. In fact one of the biggest fashions in Bhutan today is the variety and celebration of our women’s dress.
The news of prohibition on use of Rachu except Ada Rachu seems to be sign of suppression on the general population of women in the country. Have we consulted our women on their own issue in this regard? Are their sentiments respected and their views protected adequately when decisions are taken probably by the male dominated profession-the Cultural Officers. Do we really have convincing research results show that why Ada rachu was worn by common people during those times and does it worth the hurting the sentiment of our women merely because one single reason? The reasons cited the Kuensel are not convincing, atleast for me. If we have to adhere to only old cultures, I must confess that we shouldn’t be wearing anything, because that was the real culture when we actually began our civilization. Going by the culture from what I have heard from my old parents and elderly people in the village, neither men nor women wore shoes, they all could only wear Khasha Gho and Kira because people could not afford and options were too minimal during those times. Shall we start wearing those in the name of preserving our culture and stop wearing shoes because that is not our culture for common people. Today, we have the option and everyone can afford to buy in all sorts of variety. Does it really help us to preserve our culture? What about our culture of weaving Rachu in varieties of patterns for decades and what about their right to creativity? We also know the way Rachu is worn by certain level people and common people are entirely different and that itself shows we have great respect and our culture of hierarchy is maintained.
Bhutan as a Buddhist nation, we believe in impermanence and equality for all human beings. So where does the permanence on culture come from. Culture must evolve with time and passage and society must accept the change in culture. Our parents and our elders have graciously accepted the change over time in all aspects and that is why, Bhutan is one of the most liberal nations. With democracy, we should be progressing not regressing.
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