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Girls being force-fed for marriage as junta revives fattening farms
Guardian.co.uk ^ | 1 March 2009 | Alex Duval Smith

Posted on 03/01/2009 5:40:42 PM PST by forkinsocket

Fears are growing for the fate of thousands of young girls in rural Mauritania, where campaigners say the cruel practice of force-feeding young girls for marriage is making a significant comeback since a military junta took over the West African country.

Aminetou Mint Ely, a women's rights campaigner, said girls as young as five were still being subjected to the tradition of leblouh every year. The practice sees them tortured into swallowing gargantuan amounts of food and liquid - and consuming their vomit if they reject it.

"In Mauritania, a woman's size indicates the amount of space she occupies in her husband's heart," said Mint Ely, head of the Association of Women Heads of Households. ''We have gone backwards. We had a Ministry of Women's Affairs. We had achieved a parliamentary quota of 20% of seats. We had female diplomats and governors. The military have set us back by decades, sending us back to our traditional roles. We no longer even have a ministry to talk to." Mauritania has suffered a series of coups since independence from France in 1960. The latest, in August last year, saw General Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz seize power after the elected president tried to sack him.

A children's rights lawyer, Fatimata M'baye, echoed Ely's pessimism. "I have never managed to bring a case in defence of a force-fed child. The politicians are scared of questioning their own traditions. Rural marriages usually take place under customary law or are overseen by a marabou (a Muslim preacher). No state official gets involved, so there is no arbiter to check on the age of the bride." Yet, she said, Mauritania had signed both international and African treaties protecting the rights of the child.

(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society
KEYWORDS: forcefeeding; leblouh; mauritania
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1 posted on 03/01/2009 5:40:42 PM PST by forkinsocket
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To: forkinsocket

Waitng for NOW to notice.

Still waiting.

Still waiting.

Still waiting.

Still waiting.

Still waiting.

Still waiting.

Still waiting.

Still waiting.

Still waiting.

Still waiting.

Still waiting.

Still waiting.

Still waiting.

Still waiting.

Still waiting.


2 posted on 03/01/2009 5:43:29 PM PST by Robert A Cook PE (I can only donate monthly, but socialists' ABBCNNBCBS continue to lie every day!)
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To: forkinsocket
General Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz

Sigh..... Muslim men must, by and large, be terrified of their women.

3 posted on 03/01/2009 5:45:28 PM PST by r9etb
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To: forkinsocket

WELL! We must NOT impose our western morals on these people. We MUST respect thier culture! How dare we even discuss this topic.

Seriously. How very sad the state of man is without the light of Christ. How sad that the athiests only see the real or supposed wrong in the life of Christians.


4 posted on 03/01/2009 5:46:57 PM PST by outinyellowdogcountry
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To: Robert A. Cook, PE

They’re busy celebrating diversity.


5 posted on 03/01/2009 5:47:09 PM PST by cripplecreek (The poor bastards have us surrounded.)
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To: forkinsocket

these Africans really have some screwed up traditions....from female circumsission to something like this...


6 posted on 03/01/2009 5:48:15 PM PST by God luvs America (When the silent majority speaks the earth trembles!)
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To: forkinsocket

Meanwhile, NOW whines about glass ceilings even as women are taking the places of all levels of govt and business.

What a joke of an organization.


7 posted on 03/01/2009 5:50:12 PM PST by Red in Blue PA (If guns cause crime, then all of mine are defective.)
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To: forkinsocket

TARP. It's not just for insolvent banks.

8 posted on 03/01/2009 5:52:29 PM PST by 6SJ7 (Atlas Shrugged Mode: ON)
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To: God luvs America
time to fatten up 'chelle.
looking at her size, it's obvious bambo doesn't love her. No wonder she's angry lookin' all the time.
9 posted on 03/01/2009 5:53:24 PM PST by 1_Rain_Drop
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To: 1_Rain_Drop

Hey, phat is where it’s at. ;)


10 posted on 03/01/2009 6:02:19 PM PST by mkjessup (You're either with our Constitution, or you are with TKU ("The Kenyan Usurper"). CHOOSE!!!)
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To: 6SJ7

Not Guilty!!!

I’d Hit it!!!

Yeah, Baby!!!!

This message has been brought to you by the National Organization of Women and Richard Simmons.


11 posted on 03/01/2009 6:20:35 PM PST by EQAndyBuzz (Control the information and you control the people.)
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To: forkinsocket

It’s a problem of understanding. The more one understands of other cultures, the more one dislikes them.


12 posted on 03/01/2009 6:27:58 PM PST by tvdog12345
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To: 1_Rain_Drop
In Mauritania, a woman's size indicates the amount of space she occupies in her husband's heart

Ophra read this and ordered her minions to fuel up her personal Airbus A380 and dig out the aircharts for Mauritania - they're heading for Fat Body Heaven!
.

13 posted on 03/01/2009 6:28:10 PM PST by Iron Munro (Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself.)
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To: outinyellowdogcountry

Meanwhile, we in the U.S. get criticized for everything we do, and even things we don’t do. I’m tired of the nattering liberal BS.


14 posted on 03/01/2009 6:47:08 PM PST by popdonnelly (When journalism meant something, Olbermann wouldn't have been allowed near a microphone.)
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To: r9etb

“Sigh..... Muslim men must, by and large, be terrified of their women.”

Geez.........who isn’t?


15 posted on 03/01/2009 6:53:24 PM PST by JoeDetweiler
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To: mkjessup

Wasn’t it Mohammed who said “the bigger the cushion, the better the pushin’”?


16 posted on 03/01/2009 7:01:54 PM PST by Larry R. Johnson (A drunkard's dream.)
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To: mkjessup
Hey, phat is where it’s at. ;)


17 posted on 03/01/2009 7:34:53 PM PST by acad1228 (Palin / Watts in 2012!!!)
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To: forkinsocket

“Mmmmm...African food.”

18 posted on 03/01/2009 7:54:27 PM PST by RichInOC (No! BAD Rich! (What'd I say?))
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To: Robert A. Cook, PE
While your waiting, just don't hold your breath. All that will do is make you pass out and wake up with a head ache.
19 posted on 03/01/2009 8:39:30 PM PST by JimC214
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To: Larry R. Johnson
Wasn’t it Mohammed who said “the bigger the cushion, the better the pushin’”?

No, Mohammed said "I love my goat, that's what floats my boat"

Happy to help, lol
20 posted on 03/02/2009 12:39:15 AM PST by mkjessup (You're either with our Constitution, or you are with TKU ("The Kenyan Usurper"). CHOOSE!!!)
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