Women in Mauritania
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Issues impacting Women in Mauritanian society include
female genital mutilation Female genital mutilation (FGM), also known as female genital cutting, female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and female circumcision, is the ritual cutting or removal of some or all of the external female genitalia. The practice is found ...
,Female Genital Mutilation in Mauritania
Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany (September 2011)
child marriage Child marriage is a marriage or similar union, formal or informal, between a child under a certain age – typically 18 years – and an adult or another child. * * * * The vast majority of child marriages are between a female child and a ma ...
, and
polygamy Crimes Polygamy (from Late Greek (') "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, sociologists call this polygyny. When a woman is married ...
. The practice of
Leblouh ''Leblouh'' ( ar, البلوح, lə-blūḥ) is the practice of force-feeding girls from as young as five to nineteen, in countries where obesity was traditionally regarded as desirable. Especially prevalent in rural areas and having its roots in ...
( ar, البلوح, lə-blūḥ) is the practice of
force-feeding Force-feeding is the practice of feeding a human or animal against their will. The term ''gavage'' (, , ) refers to supplying a substance by means of a small plastic feeding tube passed through the nose ( nasogastric) or mouth (orogastric) into t ...
girls from as young as five, through to teenagers, in
Mauritania Mauritania (; ar, موريتانيا, ', french: Mauritanie; Berber: ''Agawej'' or ''Cengit''; Pulaar: ''Moritani''; Wolof: ''Gànnaar''; Soninke:), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania ( ar, الجمهورية الإسلامية ...
,
Western Sahara Western Sahara ( '; ; ) is a disputed territory on the northwest coast and in the Maghreb region of North and West Africa. About 20% of the territory is controlled by the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), while the r ...
, and southern
Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...
, where obesity is traditionally regarded as being desirable.Popenoe, Rebecca. 2004. Feeding Desire: Fatness, Beauty, and Sexuality among a Saharan People. New York: Routledge. .LaFRANIERE, SHARON
In Mauritania, Seeking to End an Overfed Ideal
''The New York Times'', published on July 4, 2007. Accessed on June 30, 2011. *"Girls as young as 5 and as old as 19 had to drink up to five gallons of fat-rich camel’s or cow’s milk daily, aiming for silvery stretch marks on their upper arms. If a girl refused or vomited, the village weight-gain specialist might squeeze her foot between sticks, pull her ear, pinch her inner thigh, bend her finger backward or force her to drink her own vomit. In extreme cases, girls die, due to a burst stomach. The practice was known as gavage, a French term for force-feeding geese to obtain foie gras."
Older women called "fatteners" force the young girls to consume enormous quantities of food and liquid, inflicting pain on them if they do not eat and drink. One way of inflicting pain is to pinch a limb between two sticks. A six-year-old might typically be forced to drink of camel's milk, and eat two kilos of pounded
millet Millets () are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Most species generally referred to as millets belong to the tribe Paniceae, but some millets al ...
mixed with two cups of butter, every day. Although the practice is abusive, mothers claim there is no other way to secure a good future for their children.Young Mauritanians reject forced fattening
''Al Arabiya'', February 24, 2009.
The practice goes back to the 11th century, and has been reported to have made a significant comeback in
Mauritania Mauritania (; ar, موريتانيا, ', french: Mauritanie; Berber: ''Agawej'' or ''Cengit''; Pulaar: ''Moritani''; Wolof: ''Gànnaar''; Soninke:), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania ( ar, الجمهورية الإسلامية ...
after a military junta took over Mauritania in 2008.Smith, Alex Duval
Girls being force-fed for marriage as junta revives fattening farms
''The Observer'', March 1, 2009.


Demographics

As of July 2016, the estimated population of Mauritania is 3,677,293 people. The median age of Mauritanian women is 21.4 years. Life expectancy at birth is 65.4 years. The ethnic groups are: black Moors 40%, white Moors 30%, sub-Saharan Mauritanians 30%.The World Factbook
/ref> Almost all the population practices Islam (see
Religion in Mauritania The people of Mauritania are nearly all adherents of Sunni Islam of Maliki school of jurisprudence, influenced with Sufism. Mauritania is a country in Africa, bordering Algeria, Mali, Senegal, and the Western Sahara (currently controlled by Morocco ...
). Urbanization is 53.7%.


Education

Education in Mauritania History The first system of public education in Mauritania was established by the French colonial administration. The first schools were largely concentrated in the sedentary communities of the Sénégal River Valley. In 1950, the first teacher ...
was strongly influenced by the
French educational system Education in France is organized in a highly centralized manner, with many subdivisions. It is divided into the three stages of primary education (''enseignement primaire''), secondary education (''enseignement secondaire''), and higher educatio ...
. Girls' education is still valued less than boys', and women's
literacy rate Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in written form in some specific context of use. In other words, huma ...
(age 15 and over) is lower than that of men: in 2015, the female literacy rate was 41.6%, compared to the male rate of 62.6%.


Women's rights


Child marriage

In 2017, 37% of girls in Mauritania were married before the 18 years old. 14% of girls are married before they turn 15.


Polygamy

Polygamy is legal in Mauritania. A man can marry up to four women, but must obtain the consent of his existing wife/wives first. Polygamy is common within the Afro-Mauritanian and Berber Moorish population, occurring less frequently among the Arab Moorish population. A 2007 MICS3 reports that 10.7% of women aged 15–49 are in a polygamous union.


Female genital mutilation

Female genital mutilation is prevalent in Mauritania."FGC Prevalence Rates Diagram"
African Women's Health Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, accessed 7 September 2011.
71% of all women aged between 15 and 49 had undergone FGM in 2001. A 2007 demographic cluster study found no change in FGM prevalence rate in Mauritania.
Berhane Ras-Work Berhane Ras-Work (born c.1940) is an Ethiopian anti- FGM activist. She was the founding President of the Inter-African Committee on Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children (IAC). Life Born Berhane Asfaw, into a Christian E ...

LEGISLATION TO ADDRESS THE ISSUE OF FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION (FGM)
United Nations (May 21, 2009)
Female Genital Mutilation in Mauritania
Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany (September 2011)
Type II FGM is most frequent. About 57% of Mauritania women believe FGM is a religious requirement.Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting
UNICEF, (July 2013)
Mauritania is 100% Muslim. The FGM prevalence rate varies by ethnic groups: 92% of Soninke women are cut, and about 70% of
Fulbe The Fula, Fulani, or Fulɓe people ( ff, Fulɓe, ; french: Peul, links=no; ha, Fulani or Hilani; pt, Fula, links=no; wo, Pël; bm, Fulaw) are one of the largest ethnic groups in the Sahel and West Africa, widely dispersed across the region. ...
and Moorish women. 28% of
Wolof Wolof or Wollof may refer to: * Wolof people, an ethnic group found in Senegal, Gambia, and Mauritania * Wolof language, a language spoken in Senegal, Gambia, and Mauritania * The Wolof or Jolof Empire, a medieval West African successor of the Mal ...
women have undergone FGM. Mauritania has consented to international charters such as CEDAW as well as Africa's Maputo Protocol. Ordonnance n°2005-015 on child protection restricts FGM.


Force feeding

Leblouh ''Leblouh'' ( ar, البلوح, lə-blūḥ) is the practice of force-feeding girls from as young as five to nineteen, in countries where obesity was traditionally regarded as desirable. Especially prevalent in rural areas and having its roots in ...
is the practice of
force-feeding Force-feeding is the practice of feeding a human or animal against their will. The term ''gavage'' (, , ) refers to supplying a substance by means of a small plastic feeding tube passed through the nose ( nasogastric) or mouth (orogastric) into t ...
girls from as young as five, through to teenagers, in
Mauritania Mauritania (; ar, موريتانيا, ', french: Mauritanie; Berber: ''Agawej'' or ''Cengit''; Pulaar: ''Moritani''; Wolof: ''Gànnaar''; Soninke:), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania ( ar, الجمهورية الإسلامية ...
,
Western Sahara Western Sahara ( '; ; ) is a disputed territory on the northwest coast and in the Maghreb region of North and West Africa. About 20% of the territory is controlled by the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), while the r ...
, and southern
Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...
, where obesity is traditionally regarded as being desirable. Especially prevalent in rural areas and having its roots in
Tuareg The Tuareg people (; also spelled Twareg or Touareg; endonym: ''Imuhaɣ/Imušaɣ/Imašeɣăn/Imajeɣăn'') are a large Berber ethnic group that principally inhabit the Sahara in a vast area stretching from far southwestern Libya to southern A ...
tradition, ''leblouh'' is practiced to increase chances of marriage in a society where high body volume used to be a sign of wealth. The synonym gavage comes from the French term for the force-feeding of geese to produce ''
foie gras Foie gras (, ; ) is a specialty food product made of the liver of a duck or goose. According to French law, foie gras is defined as the liver of a duck or goose fattened by gavage (force feeding). Foie gras is a popular and well-known delicacy ...
''. The practice goes back to the 11th century, and has been reported to have made a significant comeback in Mauritania after a military junta took over Mauritania in 2008.Smith, Alex Duval
Girls being force-fed for marriage as junta revives fattening farms
''The Observer'', March 1, 2009.


Slavery

Women who descend from slaves experience significant hardship in Mauritania.
Slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
has been called "deeply rooted" in the structure of Mauritania, and "closely tied" to the ethnic composition of the country. In 1905, an end of slavery in Mauritania was declared by the colonial French administration but the vastness of Mauritania mostly gave the law very few successes. In 1981, Mauritania became the last country in the world to abolish slavery, when a presidential decree abolished the practice. However, no criminal laws were passed to enforce the ban. In 2007, "under international pressure", the government passed a law allowing slaveholders to be prosecuted.


References

(data as of 1988) {{DEFAULTSORT:Women In Mauritania
Mauritania Mauritania (; ar, موريتانيا, ', french: Mauritanie; Berber: ''Agawej'' or ''Cengit''; Pulaar: ''Moritani''; Wolof: ''Gànnaar''; Soninke:), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania ( ar, الجمهورية الإسلامية ...