Leblouh: Mauritanian forced-feeding regime to fatten girls for early marriage

In Mauritania, beauty has a different definition. It is associated with obesity. Girls at the age of marriage should be fat to get a good groom quickly, as they are in the belief of that being fat is a sign of richness and wealth besides beauty, regardless of the health harms of obesity. So, girls under the age of five are being forced-fed to gain weight.

The forced-feeding practice is an old-fashioned fattening regime known as Leblouh in the sub-Sahara country, where the fatteners (old women) use Aziar, a tool of two joined sticks, to tie girls’ toes in order to force them to have several meals in case the girl refused to eat at fattening farms or at homes.

The regime starts in the evening, when the girl is forced to drink about five liters of camel milk or cow milk, then she has couscous (the main ingredient is durum wheat semolina) or rice cooked with butter. A few hours afterward, the girl should be served another pan of milk or water with starch that should be drunk over the night, Independent Arabia reported on February 4, 2020. This forced regime could take 40 days to quickly fatten girls.

Feeding is not the only method of fattening up girls in Mauritania. The Indian-made dexamethasone drug (aka Dardak tablets) is used to fatten fast, as this drug has a strong effect on carbohydrate and fat metabolism. It was reported that some women can mix these tablets with herbs to accelerate fatness. The dexamethasone drug is known as a fattener for animals like cows and horses.

According to a study conducted by the Mauritanian Ministry of Social Affairs, Childhood and Family on Leblouh in 2015, 55% of male participants considered the thinness of a woman a defect and deficiency, as some of them saw it as not possible to talk about the beauty of a woman if she is skinny, even if her face looks beautiful, reported Al Arabiya on September 13, 2017.

The study also showed that 60% of the surveyed women believe in the benefits and advantages of obesity. Another previous government survey carried out in 2001 showed that one-fifth of the female participants (68,000) aged between 15 and 49 were forcedly “overfed”, the New York Times reported on July 4, 2007.

To fight this phenomenon, the Ministry of Women’s Affairs launched a TV commercial campaign in 2003 to raise public awareness of the threats of obesity. However, the campaign was suspended after the overthrow of the government by a military coup in 2008 and the phenomenon re-emerged, Inside Arabia online reported on March 16, 2019.

A person with a healthy body weight should consume about 2,000 calories per day, said the World Health Organization (WHO). However, girls in Mauritania are forced to consume 14,000 calories or more a day, the online website added.

According to WHO, obesity affects the heart, liver, kidneys, joints, and reproductive system. “It leads to a range of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension and stroke, various forms of cancer, as well as mental health issues. People with obesity are also three times more likely to be hospitalized for COVID-19,” WHO said on March 4, 2022.

WHO added that “more than 1 billion people worldwide are obese – 650 million adults, 340 million adolescents and 39 million children.” It noted estimates that “by 2025, approximately 167 million people – adults and children – will become less healthy because they are overweight or obese.”