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Gho, Kira & Rachu
A preference for the Gho
Abi Tsodon
Any new comer to Bikhar village in Trashigang would surely mistake Pema Tsodon for a man. The 56-year-old woman, better known as Abi (granny) Tsodon in the village, is always dressed in a gho (the robe worn by Bhutanese men) with a knife tucked in her kera (belt) and her hair cropped short.

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.

She is also known for her strength to work. When most of the women in the village were engaged in weaving and other household chores, Abi Tsodon was out in the field working with the men.

"I cannot weave because I never bothered to learn weaving," she said, adding that she chose to do carpentry and was good at it. When there was woola (voluntary labour contribution), Abi Tsodon represented her household while it was men from other houses. "But now I am old and cannot work as before," she said.

Villagers said that Abi Tsodon was most of the time in the company of men and worked twice as much as women.

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.

"But I do not take it to heart and think my wearing the gho has got something to do with my deeds in my previous life," she said. "I don't know what I will be born as in my next life but if born as a human I would prefer to be born as a man.".

Contributed by Kesang Dema, KUENSEL, Bhutan's National Newspaper 2006
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