Abi Tsodon, now a widow, said that she had always worn thegho since her childhood. "When I was a child my parents told me that they tried to dress me in a kira (women's traditional wear) but I cried and insisted on wearing a gho," she saidl. "I have worn it throughout my life and I feel very comfortable in it."

Abi Tsodon said that as a young adult she did try wearing the kira several times but she felt emotionally disturbed and just could not get used to the idea of wearing the kira. "And now I hate the sight of those 'half kiras' women put on these days," she said.

Abi Tsodon has seven ghos given to her by some villagers and few given by her son but she does not own a single kira.

Wearing the gho, she said, was as normal to her as it was for men. "I married a man wearing the gho, gave birth to a son and live a normal life like everyone else."

Abi Tsodon also wears the Kabney, the men's scarf, when attending festivals or when visiting dzongs and monasteries. She has also never kept her hair long. "In fact I prefer to shave it off," she said.

Lam Dorji, 32, said that as a child he always thought she was a man. "Later when we worked together, we found that she was a woman and very strong," he said. "When we brought 25 numbers of bamboo poles she could bring along more than fifty," said another.

Abi Tsodon said that there were moments when people made fun of her for dressing up as a man.