Queer Advocacy Beyond Borders: Enkhmaa Enkbold on Safety, Solidarity, and Change in Mongolia

“Your safety and security come first — don’t risk too much to come out if the situation is tough at home.”
– Enkhmaa Enkhbold

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In this episode of Living Queer, host Erwin de Leon speaks with Enkhmaa Enkhbold, Executive Director of Mongolia’s LGBT Centre, about building queer community in a young democracy situated between Russia and China. Recorded last November following ReportOUT’s #SaferToBeMe conference in the UK, the conversation explores the realities of activism in a country that is legally progressive but socially complex.

Enkhmaa reflects on finding her own sense of belonging at the LGBT Centre after returning from Oakland, California, and how that experience shaped her leadership. Under her tenure, the Centre developed a trans leadership pipeline that led to the formation of Mongolia’s first trans-led civil society organization, a milestone years in the making.

Together, they discuss imported anti-gender movements, engagement with UN human rights mechanisms, the meaning of SOGI (sexual orientation and gender identity), and the burnout facing frontline activists worldwide. At its heart, this episode asks: What does it mean to create belonging, and how do we protect it?.

TL;DR

• Mongolia decriminalized homosexuality over 30 years ago and has anti-discrimination protections on paper

• Laws do not always translate into lived safety, especially for young LGBTQI people

• The LGBT Centre strategically invested in trans leadership, resulting in Mongolia’s first trans-led organization

• SOGI applies to everyone, not just LGBTQ+ communities

• Activist burnout is real, and sustainability matters

• Safety must come first for young queer people navigating coming out