The Mongolian government, with the financial help of UNESCO and the Danish International Development Assistance (DANIDA), utilized non-formal education tools such as the radio, printed materials, and visiting teachers in its Gobi Women’s project, which took place from 1992 to 1997, to reach out to marginalized and vulnerable Gobi women and enable them to acquire skills and practices needed for their survival during political and economic transition in the country. The project provided needed opportunities that without them, would have led to the desperation and downfall of the Gobi women given the major political and social transition occurring in the country.
The 1990s brought about sudden and dramatic changes in Mongolia, one of which was the shift from a centralized state-run economy to a free-market economy. Under the Soviet-style communist government that had existed in Mongolia since 1921, the USSR had handled most of the country’s trade and provided 30% of its income. The state had managed herds of animals, paid regular wages regardless of productivity, and cushioned the impact of livestock disasters to the 30% of people who lived in a nomadic or semi-nomadic way of life in Mongolia. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1990 though, Mongolia saw 95% of all livestock becoming privately-owned, families being responsible for obtaining their own herds, and households being in charge of producing their own goods and services and market their own products. As a result of the country’s political and economical transition, the Gobi Desert women became the most vulnerable and marginalized group in Mongolia, living in an extremely harsh climate with the poorest communication and transportation system and having to deal with newly-arisen demands that they had never experienced.
Along with the financial assistance from UNESCO and DANIDA, the Mongolian government sought to prevent the Gobi women from falling into a desperate economic situation where their survival would be at greatest risk. A community planning forum was held inviting all Gobi women to attend and participate in the planning. Bulletin notices and announcements informed the Gobi women of the event. The solution that they arrived at was non-formal distance education.
The Gobi Women’s project used the following selection criteria to ensure that the most marginalized women could have access to the project. These criteria were:
Single mother
At least 3 children
Access to radio
Some education, able to read and write (in the case of the Gobi women, there was a 98% literacy rate because of the previous government’s emphasis on education)
The Gobi Women’s project used distance education to empower women by providing them with learning opportunities. The project aimed at intervening before a desperate human rights situation occurred. The project used radio programs to cover areas based on the needs-assessment made by the government with the help of the communities themselves, which included topics such as survival generation (producing wool, refining camel fleece, making felt/camel saddles/traditional garmets/boots), health issues (family planning, hygiene, nutrition, first aid), commercial skills (price negotiating, planning, production), how to take care of animals, traditional crafts and environment issues, and job skills. Radio programs were broadcast twice a week at times most convenient for the women, usually during the evening. If any of the women could not listen to the radio, learning centers in the project areas had cassettes available to listen to the radio program that was missed. In addition to the radio, the project provided the Gobi women with booklets to follow along with the radio programs. Visiting teachers also assisted the women by checking their progress, helping them with any problems, and giving them supplementary materials.
The project helped nomadic women cope with the life-altering changes of political and economic transition that could have led to devastating situations such as poverty, hunger, malnutrition, and eventually, violence and abuse. With its non-formal distance education approach, the project created change, better opportunities, and enabled women to learn a number of urgent and valuable skills when crisis was at its peak. At the same time, the impact affected the women as well as their husbands and children. Challenges that the project faced included access to transportation and tardiness in delivering booklets.
In thinking about implementing this tactic of non-formal distance education to prevent human rights situations from escalating, the following is important to remember: 1) ensure that curriculum and materials are appropriate to lifestyle, customs, and culture of target group, 2) funding, 3) technical support from outside the country, 4) the support from the government is needed, 4) involvement of the community, 5) following up on the project is important, and 6) learning programs are learner-based. This tactic of using non-formal distance education becomes an example for tackling other social issues such as children’s rights, since this is becoming a serious issue in Asia.
Completed July 11, 2003.
Using non-formal distance education to give marginalized groups the tools to survive
