More weird news: Wife-fattening farms

Mauritania's 'wife-fattening' farm

By Pascale Harter
BBC, Mauritania

Obesity is so revered among Mauritania's white Moor Arab population that the young girls are sometimes force-fed to obtain a weight the government has described as "life-threatening".

A generation ago, over a third of women in the country were force-fed as children - Mauritania is one of the few African countries where, on average, girls receive more food than boys.

Now only around one in 10 girls are treated this way. The treatment has its roots in fat being seen as a sign of wealth - if a girl was thin she was considered poor, and would not be respected.

But in rural Mauritania you still see the rotund women that the country is famous for. They walk slowly, dainty hands on the end of dimpled arms, pinching multicoloured swathes of fabric together to keep the biting sand from their faces.

"I make them eat lots of dates, lots and lots of couscous and other fattening food," Fatematou, a voluminous woman in her sixties who runs a kind of "fat farm" in the northern desert town of Atar, told BBC World Service's The World Today programme.

Although she had no clients when I met her, she said she was soon expecting to take charge of some seven-year-olds.

"I make them eat and eat and eat. And then drink lots and lots of water," she explained.

"I make them do this all morning. Then they have a rest. In the afternoon we start again. We do this three times a day - the morning, the afternoon and the evening."

Punishment

She said the girls could end up weighing between 60 to 100 kilograms, "with lots of layers of fat."

Fatematou said that it was rare for a girl to refuse to eat, and that if they did, she was helped by the child's parents.

"They punish the girls and in the end the girls eat," she said.

"If a girl refuses we start nicely, saying 'come on, come on' sweetly, until she agrees to eat."

Fatematou admitted that sometimes the girls cried at the treatment.

"Of course they cry - they scream," she said.

"We grab them and we force them to eat. If they cry a lot we leave them sometimes for a day or two and then we come back to start again.

"They get used to it in the end."

She argued that in the end the girls were grateful.

"When they are small they don't understand, but when they grow up they are fat and beautiful," she said.

"They are proud and show off their good size to make men dribble. Don't you think that's good?"

Change

However, the view that a fat girl is more desirable is now becoming seen as old-fashioned.

A study by the Mauritanian ministry of health has found that force-feeding is dying out. Now only 11% of young girls are force fed.

"That's not how people think now," Leila - a woman in the ancient desert town of Chinguetti, who herself was fattened as a child - told The World Today.

"Traditionally a fat wife was a symbol of wealth. Now we've got another vision, another criteria for beauty.

"Young people in Mauritania today, we're not interested in being fat as a symbol of beauty. Today to be beautiful is to be natural, just to eat normally."

Some men are also much less keen on having a fat wife - a reflection of changes in Mauritanian society.

"We're fed up of fat women here," said 19-year-old shop owner Yusuf.

"Always fat women! Now we want thin women.

"In Mauritania if a woman really wants to get married I think she should stay thin. If she gets fat it's not good.

"Some girls have asked me whether they should get fat or stay thin. I tell them if you want to find a man, a European or a Mauritanian, stay thin, it's better for you. But some blokes still like them fat."

And while there still men who like their women big, Fatematou is on hand to fatten them up with her years of experience.

I asked her if she ever felt cruel, beating and force feeding children?

"No! It's not cruel to make girls fat!" she said.

"Me, I've seen 10-year old girls give birth. I tell you, 10 years old!

"Once they are fat and beautiful they can serve their men well, once they are fat they can be married."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3429903.stm

 

Thats disgusting and horrible- it's really bad for your health to be fat and who wants to be fat? Is that something that we should aspire to be? (In my opinion, we should aspire to be healthy and healthy does not mean fat- I mean "beautiful.")














Besides, if they really want fatties then the US could start a profitable export of fatasses.

 

They are poor there . They do not have enough to eat.
Being fat there means that you are rich , responsible person and that you can take care of yourshelf.

 

Given that this attitude used to prevail for a time during the Roman Empire, I'm not too surprised. I don't like the idea of such important decisions being made on behalf of children (mainly because of the associated health risks), but then I'm against major decisions being made for anyone in the first place.

 

Interesting...I've never heard that bit about fat=beauty in the Roman Empire. Was this for women, or men?

 

I believe it was just women. Since women bascially had no rights, it was like a trophy-wife thing. If you can afford to have a fatass wife, you're wealthy.

 

That is untrue about women having no rights in Ancient Rome; althought they didn't have all the rights of men (they couldn't vote or address the Senate), they could own property, divorce their husbands, go out without their hustbands, stay with their husbands at dinner (etc). They had more rights than most other cultures at that time.

In regards to fatness, I think the ideal was to be plump or mildly fat (or along those lines); however, I doubt that obesity was desirable.

 

Admittedly I'm not sure on exactly how fat you had to be to be considered good-looking, but I know my dad used to talk about how being fat as a kid was 'good', because fat = healthy. Now, of course, he regrets it, but hey.

 

I am overweight but im still very healthy, moreso even then my classmates that are an "acceptable" weight. Being fat doesnt nessicarily mean one is unhealthy if you excersize daily (at least 30 mins of walking reccomended) and eat healthy. I follow the bilbe's health standards in regards to meat.
So YES i am a fatass, tease away :lol:

 

I agree with Jarinor, I don't think kid's choices should be made or forced upon them in that sort of way, of course parents have to make choices for their children but this is a bit cruel

What are the bible's health standards, is that like the kosher diet?

 

I agree Jar, people should be able to choose. Some people may make stupid choices, but they will suffer from it. Chunky, you need to get a better picture of yourself... the one that you usually have in your display reminds me of Ben from Full Throttle.

 

[/quote]What are the bible's health standards, is that like the kosher diet?

 

sorry guys i majorly messed up that quote :/

 

Heh, editing is a fun thing. I never used it in the past.

Anyway, on topic...under weight people can be more unhealthy then fat people....hehe, I'm said to be unhealthy because I'm underweight...I have like...no energy, constant headaches...and every now and then I get a minor stomach ache...or my stomach just feels funny.


And people shouldn't be forced to be fat....that's not cool...but then again, it is in some other country...hmm...we can't stop them from doing that. The children should get to choose though...or the parents should be nice and make it so thier kids don't have to go.....