Bhutan’s first woman Gup leads the way for a new generation of women leaders.

Namgay Peldon was elected as the Gup of Tashiding Gewog in Dagana Dzongkhag. Currently Bhutanese women have 14 percent representation in Parliament and 2 percent at the local government level. Photo Credit © Gurpreet Singh/UN Women

Thimpu/ New Delhi, 17 April 2012: When 28-year-old Namgay Peldon was elected as the Gup of Tashiding Gewog in Bhutan’s Dagana district, she made history of sorts, becoming the first woman Gup or block leader in Bhutan after the nation first went to polls in 2008. Gewogs are official administrative units in Bhutan, each headed by a Gup.

The feat adds another feather in Bhutan’s cap. Three years before her election, the Himalayan kingdom ended more than a century of royal rule and moved towards a democratic system of governance – a peaceful transition that is almost unprecedented in global history.

MORE: http://www.unwomensouthasia.org/2012/namgay-peldon-bhutan%E2%80%99s-first-woman-gup-2/