whether anycustomary practices stemming fromtheBuddhist religion affected women wheresocialpractices suchasbetrothal wereconcerned. 29.Ms.ESCOBAR notedthattherepresentative ofMongolia hadsaidthattherewas noprostitution inhercountry. Shewoneered howthatcouldbe,andaskedwhether provision wasmadeforsexeducation inschools. 30.Ms.IDER(Mongolia) saidthatthecomments byCommittee members wouldserveas anincentive forMongolia's women's organizations, whichwereeagertolearnfrom theexperience ofothercountries. 31.Withregardtothequestions justraised, therewereinfactsomeareasofthe national economy inwhichwomenplayed apredominant role,suchashealth and education. Inparticular lwomenweretobefoundinlargenumbers inschools providing general education andinvocational andtechnical institutions. Asone wenthigherintheeducational hierarchy, however, thepercentage ofwomen decreased. Mongolian womenwerebeingencouraged totakejobstraditionally held bymen lwithlargenumbers ofwomenfinding employment inthefieldsoffinance, science andtechnology. Atpresent, 33percentofalllawyers inMongolia were women, agenuine achievement inviewofthecountry's history. 32.Theprovision ofadeguate child-care facilities posedamajorproblem forthe Mongolian Government, giventhatover60percentofthepopulation wasunderthe ageof30.Onaverage, urbanfamilies hadthreetofourchildren whilerural families hadfivetosix.Thefactthat90percentofMongolian womeneither workedorstudied madetheneedforchildcareparticularly acute. ,Thecountry was endeavouring toincrease thenumberofpre-school facilities significantly by1995, albeitwithlimited resources. Women's organizations andtheGovernment were takingmeasures topromote thecreation ofprivate child-care facilities andfamily day-care arrangements. 33.Theabortion lawshadrecently undergone adrastic change. Previously, abortion hadbeenallowed onlywhenstringent conditions weremet.On 23December 1989,however, thePresidium oftheGreatPeople's Khural hadissued a decreepermitting unrestricted abortion duringthefirsttrimester ofpregnancy. Underthatdecree, anywomanwasentitled toanabortion performed byadoctorina hospital freeofcharge. Medical consultation wasreguired inthecaseof abortions performed beyondthefirsttrimester, however. Onemajorgoalofthe country's familyplanning policy wastoenable womentodecide onthenumber and spacing oftheirchildren. Mongolia hadthuscomplied fullywiththeprovisions of theConvention regarding familyplanning. I •••CEDAW/C/SR.164 English Page7 (Ms.Ider,Mongolia) 34.Religion inMongolia wascurrently viewedasbeingclosely associated withthe culture, history andartoftheMongolian people. Whiletherewasageneral resurgence ofinterest inreligion, however, thathadnoi~fluence onthestatusof women. Infact,asmanyasfive centu~ies earlier, whenreligion hadbeenmuch moreinfluential, Mongolian womenhadenjoyed broadrights andhadoftenhada decisive sayinmatters pertaining tothefamily andsociety. 35.Although nostatistics wereavailable, shecouldconfirm thatorganized prostitution didnotexistinMongolia. Individual casesmightoccur,but prostitution didnotposeasocialproblem. Sexeducation wasbeingactively introduced inMongolian schools, andprogrammes andmessages aboutsexand reproductive health werebeingdisseminated bytheMinistry ofPublicHealth and themassmedia,withthecountry's largepopulation ofyoungpeopletheprimary targetaudience. 36.Thesituation ofruralwomeninMongolia posedaserious problem. Arecent studybyanexpert fromtheEconomic andSocial Commission forAsiaandthePacific hadfoundabigdifference inthestandards oflivingenjoyed byruralandurban women. Mostruralwomenwereinvolved inlivestock raising. Asmembers of co-operative farms,theywerepaidfortheirwork;wageswerelow,however, afact thathadbeenwidely andopenlycriticized. Ruralwomenalsoengaged inunpaid workathome,muchofwhichrevolved aroundprivately ownedcattle, buttheycould thenselltheircattleproducts privately foraprofit. 37.Therewerenocustomary practices inMongolia whichjeopardized women's equality, perhaps because Mongolia hadoriginally beenandtosomeextentstillwas anomadic society. Inconclusion, shehopedthatanyquestion shehadnotanswered wouldbetakenupmorefullyinhercountry's nextperiOdic report. 38.Ms.Iderwithdrew. 39.Ms.Evatt,Chairperson, resumed theChair.
**Analysis**
This text appears to be focused on the social and economic status of women in Mongolia, discussing their rights, employment, education, and healthcare. The discussion also touches on cultural and historical aspects, but the primary focus is on the current situation of women in the country.

**Category**
Education, Health, Employment, Culture