Mongolia: Contemporary marriage customs, including information on customs in Ulan Bator, arranged marriages, child betrothals, common law relationships, inter-ethnic marriages between Khalkas and Kazakhs, inter-religious marriages between Muslims and Buddhists
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 March 1999 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | MNG31445.E |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Mongolia: Contemporary marriage customs, including information on customs in Ulan Bator, arranged marriages, child betrothals, common law relationships, inter-ethnic marriages between Khalkas and Kazakhs, inter-religious marriages between Muslims and Buddhists, 1 March 1999, MNG31445.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ab1758.html [accessed 21 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Information on contemporary marriage customs in Mongolia is scarce among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate. The following information was provided by a Doctoral candidate in political science at Rutgers University, who is from Mongolia and is a former board member of Women for Social Progress in Ulan Bator, in a telephone interview with the Research Directorate (26 Mar. 1999). The Doctoral candidate emphasized the possibility for variation in marriage customs outside Ulan Bator, particularly with respect to the persistence or re-emergence of traditional practices. With respect to arranged marriages and child betrothals the Doctoral candidate stated that those practices, which had existed as traditional practices, were made illegal and substantially eliminated under socialism, although they may yet exist in rural areas. According to the Doctoral candidate common-law marriages, interpreted as living in a marriage-like relationship without formal ceremony or registration, are very common and there is no stigma attached to this practice. Fathers in common-law relationships are held responsible for support of their children born in those relationships and women in common-law relationships will be accorded property rights by the courts. Inter-ethnic and inter-religious marriages frequently amount to the same thing as the Khalka or Mongol peoples are overwhelmingly Buddhist and the Kazakhs predominantly Muslim. The Doctoral candidate stated that no laws prohibit such marriages; however, nationalistic sentiments within both groups discourage such marriages and partners to such a marriage would likely be stigmatized and in rare cases disowned by their families.
This information corroborated earlier information provided by the Executive Director of the Centre for the Study of Eurasian Nomads (CSEN), a non-profit organization that organizes ethnographic and archaeological expeditions to Mongolia (17 Mar. 1999). The Executive Director also emphasized the potential for variation in practice between Ulan Bator and rural areas.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Response.
References
Doctoral candidate in political science, Rutgers University, New Jersey. 26 March 1999. Telephone interview.
Executive Director, Centre for the Study of Eurasian Nomads (CSEN), Berkely, CA. 17 March 1999. Telephone interview.
Additional Sources Consulted
Electronic Sources: IRB Databases, LEXIS/NEXIS, REFWORLD, Internet, and WNC.
Unsuccessful attempts to contact three oral sources.
