Information and Communication Technologies in Bhutan: A Gender Analysis

Commonly referred to as Druk Yul – land of the Thunder Dragon – the landlocked Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan is home to a unique collection of geographies, languages, cultures, customs and norms. It is a country isolated by its natural geography and deliberate national policy. In recent years, information and communication technologies (ICTs) have been gradually introduced to communities spread across the mountainous terrain. Are these tools equally accessible to all community members? Do they hold similar value for different prospective users? How do different social customs and behaviours influence perceptions and usage patterns? Do existing gender relations get reinforced or challenged by the introduction of these ICTs? These are the types of questions that drove the research conducted in Bhutan. This book presents findings from a comparative research study examining how fixed telephones, mobile telephones, and internet technologies are perceived and used by Bhutanese women and men in the urban community of Thimphu, and those in the remote rural community of Tangmachu.