Chapter 6: Shared Metaphors, Shared Dreams1

All we find is a total lack of literary voices when trying to trace the history of women writers in Bhutan. In fact, there is no history of Bhutanese women writers at all. This was natural in a society where literacy was limited to certain groups of people, mainly the male clergy and a select group of the elite. Literacy and religion were seen as being synonymous. Theoretically, the spiritual path was open to both men and women but, religious and cultural prejudices presented insurmountable obstacles and hindrances in the women’s way because of their gender. Consequently, here too, we find no women in positions of influence in the history of religious hierarchy. The innate yearning that women openly expressed for the spiritual path was, I am sure, also a yearning for literacy as a vehicle to the freedom of expression. Even as women conformed to the societal norms of femininity, demure domesticity and silent acceptance of their world, they dreamed of alternative ways to break away from the confines of a world as defined by men’s understanding of the realities of the universe. In their pursuit of the spiritual path women drew inspiration and guidance from the exemplary lives of well-known Buddhist women, divine and often miraculous personal-ities. They found solace in their belief that miracles happened and it could happen to anyone.