Fight for equality and political participation

Every time Zolzaya Batkhuyag thinks back to her meetings with government officials it enrages her. "They invite us to come, listen to us, then admit that many of our complaints are justified," explains the 38-year-old Mongolian, "but nothing changes."

Batkhuyag was born in the Mongolian capital Ulaanbaatar, studied law and became one of the co-founders of the NGO Women for Change in 2010. The NGO has around 100 members. Together with a sizeable number of alumni, they fight against injustices, such as corruption, domestic violence and discrimination against women. They are also committed to increasing the political participation of young people, especially women. Batkhuyag says: "the government is simply doing a bad job."

Organisations like Women for Change have recently gained traction as dissatisfaction and frustration in Mongolia spirals, especially among young people. The sluggish state of the economy as a consequence of the pandemic is not the only reason. These emotions tend to be fuelled more by a deep-seated rage about the wealth-grabbing by the ruling elites, the lack of career and economic prospects, and insufficient representation in the decision-making process. Many young people feel that the government is not fulfilling its duties. Some are thinking about emigrating.

According to a 2016 UN survey, 60% of 15- to 24-year-olds believe that politics is a dirty business. They also believe that injustice is driving good people away from politics. Experts say there has been little change in these attitudes in recent years.

On 7 April 2022, thousands of, mostly young, Mongolians vented their anger by marching through the streets of Ulaanbaatar in protest. Many were students. They called for a more independent judiciary, fairer tax policies and better job opportunities. Some of the participants subsequently reported that the police had beaten a number of peaceful protesters. The result: even more protesters turned up the next day.

The government did not take the demonstrations lightly, partly because the demonstrators seemed to have been drawn from mainstream society rather than having any particular political affiliation, and partly because the protests decried a wide range of wrongdoings. Prime Minister Luvsannamsrai Oyun-Erdene was forced to appear in front of the demonstrators. He promised to address the young people's concerns.

However, conditions have not yet improved radically; one year after the protests, confidence in the ruling class has still not returned. "Politics is all about having the right connections," says Zolzaya Batkhuyag. A common criticism made by experts is that people in Mongolia usually go into politics in order to further their own financial interests rather than to improve conditions in the country.

Julian Dierkes, an expert on Mongolia at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, says: "every instance of political engagement is seen as financially motivated, and that is a terrible disease afflicting politics." Even now, 30 years after the end of the Soviet Union and the transition to democracy, the old mentality still appears to be very much alive. Mongolia was a close partner of the former Soviet Union until the early 1990s.

"The economic situation is instrumental in stoking the dissatisfaction," says Batkhuyag. After Mongolia's gross domestic product shrank by 4.4% in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, it declined by just 1.4% last year. The World Bank forecasts GDP growth of 2.5% this year – a figure that is still far too low for an emerging market like Mongolia.

One reason for the sluggish state of the economy is the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the Mongolian government has lifted almost all the restrictions, the Chinese government's zero-COVID policy has left its mark on the Mongolian economy. The de facto closing of the border to its larger neighbour China is the primary factor hindering trade and thus paralysing the economy. In addition, the prices for commodities and foodstuffs from abroad, including Russia, have risen significantly in recent times. According to the Asian Development Bank, the inflation rate is expected to hit 14.7% this year – taking a big bite out of Mongolian household budgets.

But the impact of the pandemic is not the only factor weakening economic momentum and thus providing only modest job prospects, especially for young people. Deep structural faults also play a role. For example, Mongolia extracts large quantities of various raw materials. Take its copper deposits, which are among the largest in the world. The problem is that processing takes place elsewhere, and there are no value-adding activities in Mongolia.

A large share of its copper output, for example, is exported to China where the metal is further processed, providing no added value to Mongolia. The country has spent far too long resting on its laurels, relying on the revenues flowing from its abundant mineral resources, and has failed to set up industrial structures.

Policymakers have failed to do important homework in other areas too. Instead of introducing structural reforms to create more and better-paid jobs for the younger generation, the government has merely raised its transfer payments: child allowances were increased, as were old-age pensions and unemployment benefits. A doctor trained in Australia, on the other hand, earns the equivalent of just CHF 300.

The government would probably have done better to invest the money in sustainable reforms of the Mongolian education system, as this is in a precarious state of imbalance. The system currently produces large numbers of university graduates, especially in law, economics and business studies, some of whom have only received a mediocre education. They frequently go on to work in poorly paid jobs, for example as warehouse workers. At the same time, industry can't find the skilled workers it needs.

Batkhuyag from Women for Change has another concern. When the government closed the schools after the outbreak of the pandemic, teachers at private schools were able to teach their pupils by distance learning. Families in the countryside, on the other hand, don't have the necessary technical equipment such as laptops, or fast internet access. Batkhuyag says: "children in rural areas have now missed out on two years of education."

Batkhuyag and her colleagues also hold regular workshops and conferences drawing attention to the mistreatment of women, which is a widespread problem. A Mongolian survey revealed that 57% of women have experienced domestic violence, many of them more than once.

However, many young Mongolians also complain about difficulty in gaining access to politics. The reasons are financial. "It takes a lot of money to run an election campaign in Mongolia," says Batkhuyag, "but most young people don't have that amount of cash."

And yet the country's hope now rests on the younger generation, the 20- to 40-year-olds. They are open to the world, take a strong interest in education, and many of them have studied abroad, in places like the USA, Australia and South Korea. A recent survey of young Mongolians by the German Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung showed that 80% of respondents are interested in global affairs and international news. Viktor Frank, who heads the Ulaanbaatar office of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, a German foundation, also considers young people to be "highly engaged". Frank says: "They are ready to take responsibility." This could spark an urgently required generational handover in Mongolia.

Matthias Kamp has a degree in Sinology and has been China and Mongolia correspondent for the Swiss daily NZZ since 2021. He is based in Beijing.