The Mongolian Constitution of 1992 prohibits all forms of discrimination, stating that “no person may be discriminated against on the basis of ethnic origin, language, race, age, sex, social origin or status, property or post, religion, opinion, or education”.
Mongolia was one of the first countries to ratify (in 1981) the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. However, the periodic reports show that the country has yet to address several important articles. For example, no information is provided on sex roles and stereotyping, equality before the law and in civil matters, and equality in marriage and family law. As a result, official information on these issues is scarce. It can be noted, however, that women in Mongolia are more likely than men to be unemployed and to suffer from poverty.
Mongolian women are relatively well protected within the family context. The legal age of marriage is 18 years for both sexes and all marriages are to be based on free and mutual consent. Cases of early marriage do exist but are increasingly rare. A 2004 United Nations report estimated that 6 per cent of girls between 15 and 19 years of age were married, divorced or widowed. On the whole, both men and women are marrying at a later age: a study by the Population Council covering the period 1989 to 2000 shows that the mean age at first marriage for women increased from 21.1 to 23.7 years, while the mean age for men rose from 23.3 to 25.7 years.
Polygamy reportedly exists in some regions of Mongolia, though no specific data on prevalence are available.
Mongolia’s 1992 Family Law provides for equal parental authority and spousal rights. In practice, the responsibility of family and childcare falls almost exclusively on women.
Women and men also have the same legal rights in the area of inheritance.
Legislation provides a high level of protection for the physical integrity of women in Mongolia. However, violence against women is a serious problem that has only recently received adequate attention. Provisions in the Criminal Code address violence against women, but it has proven difficult to implement and enforce laws protecting women’s rights. In 2005, the government passed a new law that specifically addresses domestic violence. It has since also established a number of women’s shelters.
There is no evidence that female genital mutilation is practised in Mongolia. The sex ratio at birth is slightly tilted in favour of males, suggesting that Mongolia is a country of concern regarding missing women.
Legislation in Mongolia provides women with ownership rights. Women and men may have equal rights to access to land and access to property other than land. However, recent analysis by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank (WB) shows that new government regulations do not proactively support gender equality in access to, or control over, newly allocated land. For example, when registering land, the names of all adult household members must appear on the title, but an individual can waive this right. This raises concerns that land allotment may follow the trend of previous phases of privatisation — in which 46 per cent of the properties (mostly rural livestock and urban housing) were allocated solely to male heads of households. The ADB and WB analysis reports that only 30 per cent of titles were registered jointly to husbands and wives, and only 16 per cent to wives alone.
The law in Mongolia does not differentiate between men and women in regard to access to bank loans and credit. The ADB and WB reported that women’s share of the XAS Bank’s small business loans was 57 per cent in 2003 and 54 per cent in the first quarter of 2004.
Women in Mongolia do not face restrictions to their civil liberties; they have a high degree of freedom of movement and freedom of dress.
Asian Development Bank and the World Bank (2005), Mongolia – Country Gender Assessment, Asian Development Bank and the World Bank, Manila.
CEDAW (Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women) (1999), Consideration of Reports Submitted by States Parties Under Article 18 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women: Mongolia, Combined Third and Fourth Periodic Reports of States Parties, CEDAW/C/MNG/3-4, CEDAW, New York, NY.
CEDAW (2007), Consideration of Reports Submitted by States Parties Under Article 18 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women: Mongolia, Cominbed Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Periodic Reports of States Parties, CEDAW/C/MNG/7, CEDAW, New York, NY.
The Population Council (2002), Universal Sexuality Education in Mongolia: Educating Today to Protect Tomorrow, The Population Council, New York, www.popcouncil.org.
UN (United Nations) (2004), World Fertility Report 2003, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, New York, NY.
US Department of State (2007), Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Mongolia, US Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, Washington, DC.
