| Kunzang Choden | |
| Birth Place: | Tang, Bumthang, Bhutan |
| Occupation: | Writer |
| Alma Mater: | University of Nebraska-Lincoln |
| Notableworks: | The Circle of Karma (2005), Bhutanese Tales of the Yeti (1997), Folktales of Bhutan (1994) |
| Children: | 2 daughters, 1 son |
Kunzang Choden (; born 1952)[1] is a Bhutanese writer. She is the first Bhutanese woman to write a novel in English.
Choden was born in Bumthang District. Her parents were feudal landlords. At the age of nine, her father sent her to school in India, where she learned English.[2] She has a BA Honours in Psychology from Indraprastha College in Delhi and a BA in Sociology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She has worked for the United Nations Development Program in Bhutan. She and her Swiss husband currently live in Thimphu.[3]
The Circle of Karma, published by Zubaan Publishers Pvt. Ltd in 2005, is her first novel. It takes place in the 1950s, the initial period of imperially regulated modernization in Bhutan. The main character, a Bhutanese woman and road-builder by occupation, is forced to deal both with the traditional, restrictive gender roles of pre-modern Bhutan and the new kinds of sexism developing as men gain economic freedom.[4] Much of the novel is also set in North India.
In 2012, Choden and her family founded the publishing house, Riyang Books, in Thimphu.[5] [6]
During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, Choden's film-maker daughter, Dechen Roder, made video recordings of her mother reading her stories and posted them to YouTube for children stuck at home during the lockdown.[7]
From around 2000, Kunzang Choden and her husband worked with other family members on renovating her ancestral home of Ogyen Choling, a manor house and a religious centre. The manor house with its adjacent temple and all the artefacts and treasures in them were turned into a cultural heritage under the care of Ogyen Choling Foundation, a registered Civil Society Organisation in Bhutan. Today, Ogyen Choling is an exemplary museum of traditional life in Bhutan in the past. Its premises are well maintained and visitors can stay in a very comfortable guest house with modern facilities, while enjoying the scenic beauty and cultural history of Ogyen Choling. Ogyen Choling Foundation also runs community projects such as the daycare centre, academic prizes in local schools and handicrafts promotion.