Born: 1952, Bhutan
Died: NA
Country most active: Bhutan
Also known as: NA
Kunzang Choden is the first known Bhutanese woman to write a novel in English, 2005’s The Circle of Karma, which deals with sexism in 1950s Bhutan. Born in Bumthang District, she was sent to India for schooling at age 9 and went on to earn a Bachelor’s in Psychology from Indraprastha College and a Bachelor’s in Sociology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She has also worked for the United Nations Development Program in Bhutan, and lives in Thumpu, where she and her family founded a publishing house, Riyang Books, in 2012. During the Covid-19 pandemic, her daughter, filmmaker Dechen Roder, filmed Choden reading her stories and posted the videos to YouTube for children to enjoy.