Leblouh

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Leblouh (Arabic: البلوح, romanized: 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.[1][2][3] Especially prevalent in rural areas and having its roots in Tuareg[4] tradition, leblouh is practiced to increase chances of marriage in a society where high body volume used to be a sign of wealth.

The practice occurs in several African countries, such as Mauritania,[5] Niger,[6] Uganda,[7][8] Sudan,[9] Tunisia[6] (specifically Jewish people),[10] Nigeria,[11][12][13][14] Kenya and South Africa.[15]

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 the country in 2008.[16] The younger generations in Mauritania view this practice negatively.[17]

  1. ^ Popenoe, Rebecca. 2004. Feeding Desire: Fatness, Beauty, and Sexuality among a Saharan People. New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-0415280969.
  2. ^ "De mujeres abundantemente hermosas (Abundantly beautiful women)". Archived from the original on 2014-12-25. Retrieved 2014-12-25.
  3. ^ LaFRANIERE, SHARON. In Mauritania, Seeking to End an Overfed Ideal Archived 2018-01-17 at the Wayback Machine, 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."
  4. ^ "Encyclopedie Berbere: Gavage". Archived from the original on 2016-04-26. Retrieved 2013-02-10.
  5. ^ Duval Smith, Alex (March 1, 2009). "Girls being force-fed for marriage as fattening farms revived". The Guardian.
  6. ^ a b Bernus, E.; Akkari-Weriemmi, J. (1998-09-01). "Gavage". Encyclopédie Berbère (in French) (20): 2996–2999. doi:10.4000/encyclopedieberbere.1856. ISSN 1015-7344. Archived from the original on 2019-10-17. Retrieved 2019-12-08.
  7. ^ The Price of Beauty, Episode 104
  8. ^ Rguibi, M.; Belahsen, R. (2006). "Fattening practices among Moroccan Saharawi women". Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal. 12 (5): 619–624. ISSN 1020-3397. PMID 17333802.
  9. ^ Baba, Hana (2013-05-14). "A country where big is no longer beautiful". Archived from the original on 2019-12-07. Retrieved 2019-12-08.
  10. ^ Salamon, Hagar; Juhasz, Esther (2011). ""Goddesses of Flesh and Metal": Gazes on the Tradition of Fattening Jewish Brides in Tunisia". Journal of Middle East Women's Studies. 7 (1): 1–38. doi:10.2979/jmiddeastwomstud.2011.7.1.1. ISSN 1552-5864. JSTOR 10.2979/jmiddeastwomstud.2011.7.1.1. S2CID 162465276.
  11. ^ "Where Fat Is a Mark of Beauty". Los Angeles Times. 1998-09-30. Archived from the original on 2019-12-08. Retrieved 2019-12-08.
  12. ^ "Journal from Kashmir - featuring women poets". World Pulse. 2015-10-17. Archived from the original on 2019-10-17. Retrieved 2019-12-08.
  13. ^ "namywedding.com". www.namywedding.com. Archived from the original on 2015-07-07. Retrieved 2019-12-08.
  14. ^ "Biyokulule Online". www.biyokulule.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2019-12-08.
  15. ^ "Biyokulule Online". www.biyokulule.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2019-12-08.
  16. ^ Smith, Alex Duval. Girls being force-fed for marriage as junta revives fattening farms Archived 2018-01-25 at the Wayback Machine, The Observer, March 1, 2009.
  17. ^ Young Mauritanians reject forced fattening Archived 2017-12-29 at the Wayback Machine, Al Arabiya, February 24, 2009.