The Order of Glorious Motherhood
Motherhood is seen as the ‘patriotic duty’ of every Mongolian woman. Four children bring mothers the honour (+ medal) of ‘Second Order of Glorious Motherhood’, 6 kids the highest honour of ‘First Order of Glorious Motherhood’.
Mongolia is the most sparsely populated country in the world, with less than two inhabitants per sq.km - Livestock outnumber people by roughly 20 to 1. According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, there are currently (2024) around 3.2million inhabitants - still making it the emptiest country on the planet.
People are so scarce that the Mongolian Government has been paying couples to procreate and honour women with medals for having large families. In stark contrast to neighbouring China’s former one-child policy, Mongolia is still trying to boost numbers with incentives that were introduced in the 1950s.
Mongolia’s extreme & harsh climate conditions create barriers to its economic and population growth. There is very little arable land, huge areas covered by Steppes, with long cold winters in the soaring mountains and burning summers in the deserts. The effects of climate change will no doubt exacerbate these extremes, making life particularly challenging for nomadic inhabitants.
DUGERJAV, 68 - 8 CHILDREN, 22 GRANDCHILDREN / A family portrait in 1961 when Dugerjav (far left) was 11 years old
KHISHIGDORJ, 73 - 9 CHILDREN, 48 GRANDCHILDREN / Livestock outnumber people by 20 to 1
KHISHIGDORJ, 73 9 CHILDREN, 48 GRANDCHILDREN / A white Khadag (piece of silk) is given to mothers as an offering to show appreciation and respect
MAINZAV, 80 12 CHILDREN, 31 GRANDCHILDREN / Animal skulls are offered to nature in the hope of reincarnation
BADAMJAV, 68 4 CHILDREN, 12 GRANDCHILDREN / Four children bring mothers the honour (and a medal) of “Second Order of Glorious Motherhood” and six children the highest honour of “First Order of Glorious Motherhood”