From women’s studies to gender studies in Mongolia: Decolonial readings of a post-socialist trajectory

This paper traces the evolution of gender scholarship in Mongolia from its origins in socialist era Women’s Studies to its contemporary institutionalization as an interdisciplinary academic field. Through content and discourse analysis of key texts, expert interviews, and policy reviews, the study identifies three major phases—socialist (1970s–1989), transitional (1990-2005), and institutional (2005-present)—that reflect broader socio-political transformations. It argues that the development of Gender Studies in Mongolia represents a hybrid and decolonial process shaped by the intersection of socialist legacies, democratic transition, and transnational feminist exchanges. Theoretically, the paper situates Mongolia as a post-socialist and decolonial site of feminist knowledge production. Empirically, it demonstrates the growing methodological sophistication and institutionalization of gender research in Mongolian academia. By examining how global feminist ideas are reinterpreted through local epistemologies, this study highlights Mongolia’s contribution to pluralizing feminist knowledge across Asia’s diverse post-socialist and cultural contexts.