A young girl with her mouth covered with food. Traditionally, girls were force-fed before the onset of puberty by their elders because obesity was a symbol of opulence and good health. Married very young, a girl who was not fit by the age of 12 could not find a husband. Today, even if the practice of traditional force-feeding is tending to disappear, the beauty criteria linked to overweight remain rooted in Moorish society despite new generations that are open and aware of the health risks linked to obesity.

Arm bulges are generally considered a mark of beauty. In the Moorish culture, the arm has an erotic and sexy dimension since it is one of the few parts of the body that can be discovered through the melhfa (Mauritanian veil). Letting one's arm be seen can be an act of invitation to closeness and seduction. A coated arm is a sign of attractive corpulence.

A young girl regurgitates zrig after being forced to drink large quantities of it. Zrig is a traditional Mauritanian drink made from camel or goat's milk, which is consumed fresh or curdled with added water and sugar. Traditional force-feeding began at the age of 4 years and intensified in adolescence in preparation for marriage.It was practiced by the other women of the family: mothers, grandmothers, or aunts. There even existed and still exist camps specialized in force-feeding where young girls were sent to follow intensive sessions practiced by the "lembelhate" (professional force-feeders). Some of the girls who were forced force-feeders report that they were forced to drink liters of camel milk, along with couscous and rice, for days on end. When they vomited, they could be made to swallow their vomit.

Traditionally, young girls were physically tortured to force them to eat and gain weight. The women of the family would pinch the thighs, fingers, or arms of the young people during feeding sessions, which could take place sitting or lying down, and could sometimes last day and night. They could also use two wooden sticks in the shape of a vise that could be closed. The painful effect of physical restraint caused the girls to swallow as much food as possible. The body marks associated with this exercise were proof that the girls had been properly treated and were ready to be married.

A young girl is given a dumpling of millet semolina. A technique conasisting of swallowing it without chewing it and with the help of a sip of water made it possible to push back the feeling of satiety. This technique is still used today by young girls who want to gain weight quickly.

Traditional bowl containing Nche, a porridge made from milk and wheat or millet flour. Still today, if a thin girl is not married by the age of 25, the entourage may blame it on her thinness which cannot be attractive to men.

A young girl in traditional melhfa, also called "Nila" (black color and indigo, supposed to protect from heat and sunlight), spits millet semolina after being forced to eat large quantities of it. Some girls say that if they refused to eat what was prepared for them, they could be beaten or spat in the face.

Traditionally, young girls were physically tortured to force them to eat and gain weight. Among other uses, women put large bracelets on girls' ankles. As long as they did not fill up to the intended diameter, they were not ready for marriage. Then they continued to be stuffed until they reached the desired shapes. Today, mentalities are changing and men are no longer looking for obese women, but unconsciously, being overweight is still considered a criterion of beauty and if some young people are not particularly attracted to plump women, others continue to put pressure on their wives, especially to match what society expects of them. In the mind, a plump woman is also a well-groomed woman who takes care of herself.

Mise en scène imagée d'une jeune fille maure forcée de manger du lait en grande quantité.

Pot of dried fruit sold in Moroccan grocery stores in Nouakchott and intended for weight gain. Today, some young girls living in urban areas are finding natural solutions to gain weight on their own, especially among Moroccan shopkeepers. Mixtures or pastes of dried fruit with honey are among the coveted foods for rapid weight gain.

A young girl monitors her weight gain. If there is no "ideal weight", today's young girls don't seem to be satisfied if they don't reach at least the 70kg bar. To be able to marry, some girls still say they are under pressure from family but also from their husbands for whom marrying an overweight woman is a source of pride. The psychological impact on women can be very dangerous. In 2011, one girl mixed all kinds of pills and syrups to gain weight before her marriage. She overdosed and died of a heart attack.

A young girl drinks milk to gain weight. As social pressure is always very high, some girls continue to want to put on weight and find themselves caught between tradition and modernity. While many of them speak of a "personal choice", others report being greatly influenced by tradition and the views of others

Nicknamed "Dardak", this miracle tablet apparently made in India is consumed to gain weight with immediate effect. Intended for cattle feed and composed of corticoids and stimulants, it is readily available for sale at beauty retailers in the main (Capital) market in the city of Nouakchott. The use of Dardak causes serious illnesses in the digestive system, hormonal disorders, and can lead to kidney or heart failure. It also promotes diabetes, hypertension, asthma and osteoarthritis. The weight gain via this tablet intended for livestock can be accompanied by the appearance of unsightly hair, especially on the face, a change of voice (hoarse) and a flabby and distended skin while Moorish women seek to be round but with smooth skin.

A young girl consumes Pernabol. Pernabol is an antihistamine syrup used among others for its side effects. Its diverted use in favor of weight gain has forced Mauritanian pharmacies to dispense it only on prescription. However, a black market has been set up and the drug is available to consumers directly from certain beauty product retailers. Some young girls use it to gain weight quickly in addition to other substances. The undesirable effects of Pernabol consumption are numerous: drowsiness, effects on the skin and subcutaneous tissue, respiratory problems, immune and nervous system disorders, psychiatric disorders etc. Its prolonged and abusive use is very dangerous.

The consumption of vitamin syrups sold in pharmacies and intended to increase appetite is common in the Mauritanian capital. Combined with a rich diet and sometimes other chemical substances, its excessive and prolonged use allows an extremely fast and generous weight gain. Among the syrups used is Apetamin, whose sale is illegal in many countries because of its side effects (drowsiness, dizziness, shaking, blurred vision, toxicity and liver failure ...).

A young girl consumes tablets in large quantities. Some mix everything that can be found on the market without taking into consideration the health risks associated with the combination of certain components. The girls started using the drugs for their side effects in 2008. Today, the risks are known and they take them in secret because the use of chemical substances is very badly perceived. The family and men want a naturally fat girl. So, even if a girl has metamorphosed in record time, she will not assume that she has taken harmful substances. She will then say that she has given all her time and energy to natural food to gain weight. FR : Une jeune fille consomme des comprimés en grande quantité. Certaines mélangent tout ce qui peut se trouver sur le marché sans prendre en considération les risques sanitaires liés à l'association de certains composants. Les filles ont commencé à utiliser les médicaments pour leurs effets secondaire en 2008. Aujourd’hui, les risques sont connus et elles les prennent en cachette car la prise de substances chimiques est très mal perçue. La famille et les hommes veulent d’une fille grosse naturellement. Ainsi, même si une fille s'est métamorphosée en un temps record, elle n'assumera pas avoir consommé des substances nocives. Elle dira alors qu'elle a donné tout son temps et son energie dans la nourriture naturelle pour prendre du poids.

A woman dressed, coiffed and adorned for her wedding, with chubby arms. At the age of 20, if a Moorish girl is not at least chubby, it means in the minds that she is not responsible, adult, and therefore not ready for marriage. To be fat is to be a woman. It is very difficult to know the age of the girls you meet. Since young girls are encouraged to take on very young shapes, they can look much older. For example, a girl may find herself married at 13 because she looks 20.FR : Une femme vêtue, coiffée et parée pour son mariage, les bras potelés. A 20 ans, si un fille maure n'est pas au moins enrobée, cela signifie dans les esprits qu'elle n'est pas reponsable, adulte, et donc qu'elle n'est pas prête pour le mariage. Etre grosse, c’est être une femme. Il est d'ailleurs très difficile de savoir l’âge des filles que l'on croise. Comme les jeunes filles sont incitées à prendre des formes très jeunes, elles peuvent avoir l'air beaucoup plus âgées. Une fille peut ainsi se retrouver mariée à 13 ans car elle a l’air d’en avoir 20.

To look bigger, all techniques are good. Here, a woman applies "fattening" oil that she massages with a suction cup to inflate her cheeks. This technique to temporarily inflate is used by some girls before unexpected social events (weddings, birthdays etc.) in order to look beautiful for the occasion. The oils used generally contain fenugreek, which is known to increase the production of estrogen and progesterone. In Mauritania, thin girls report very little harassment. Those who were obese reportedly suffered much more violence, from physical or verbal harassment to rape. Moreover, when thin girls say they have suffered sexual violence, they are sometimes not believed. In people's minds, a thin girl is not attractive.

A woman hides behind her Melhfa (mauritanian veil). While women are generally discreet when it comes to taking harmful substances, they are active when it comes to giving advice on how to gain weight naturally. For example, there is a facebook group followed by nearly 275,000 members (Mauritania has 4.5 million inhabitants) in which girls ask for and give beauty advice, especially on techniques concerning weight gain. There are hundreds of answers to every question on the subject: each one has her own grandmother's recipe for miraculous weight gain. And those who try to question force-feeding practices publicly are immediately banned from the group.

Face modeling by massage: you need big cheekbones but no unsightly chin. Diverted drugs do not make you fatten harmoniously and many girls regret that there is no turning back, both on the morphological changes and on the health effects. Some of them say that they are no longer comfortable in their bodies, or even develop enormous complexes due to the side effects. The criteria of female beauty in the Moorish society are very difficult to reach: it is necessary to be fat, to have buttocks, chubby arms, rounded cheeks but not to have a belly nor double chin. Girls who wish to reach this ideal grope, gain weight, then try to lose weight on the so-called "unsightly" areas, even with natural food, any rapid transformation of body size causing irreversible undesirable effects on the body (flabby skin, stretch marks, hormonal imbalances etc.).