Where does this documentary take place?

The documentary focuses on Mauritania, where force-feeding young girls is practiced to make them appear more attractive for marriage.

Why are girls in Mauritania force-fed?

Parents believe extra weight makes girls look wealthier and more attractive for potential suitors.

What kind of diet are the girls subjected to?

They consume up to 9,000 calories a day, including camel's milk and porridge, which can lead to severe health issues.

What are the health risks associated with force-feeding the girls?

The practice increases the risk of diabetes, heart diseases, and kidney failure in young girls.

What drugs are used to promote weight gain and what are the risks?

Some women illegally use steroids and antihistamines to artificially gain weight, despite associated health risks.

How young are girls when they start being force-fed?

Girls as young as five or six are subjected to eating large quantities every day during their feeding season.

What does the narrator do to better understand the practice?

The narrator joins the villages, experiencing force-feeding themselves to understand the practice's impact.

What is the target calorie intake for these girls by the end of their feeding season?

The goal is for the girls to gain weight quickly, reaching an extra 16,000 calories a day by the end of the feeding process.

What cultural belief underlies the force-feeding practice?

An extreme cultural emphasis sees weight as synonymous with beauty, leading to this harmful tradition.

How does society view this practice in Mauritania?

Despite the obvious negative impacts, there is widespread societal support for maintaining these outdated beauty ideals.

Young girls force-fed for marriage in Mauritania | Unreported World

00:22:38

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZM2q7XFOOgg

Summary

TLDRThis documentary explores the controversial tradition of force-feeding young girls in Mauritania, a practice intended to make them gain weight. This weight gain is culturally associated with beauty and wealth, increasing the girls' prospects for marriage. Monet and Hindu, the eleven-year-olds featured, undergo a daily regimen of consuming up to 9,000 calories, primarily derived from camel's milk and porridge. This custom is seen as essential by their parents, despite severe health risks like diabetes, heart disease, and kidney failure. Some women obtain and use illegal drugs, such as steroids and antihistamines, to gain weight rapidly, which can endanger their health even further. Throughout the video, the narrator participates by experiencing this force-feeding process to provide insight into the physical and emotional challenges the girls face. The film raises awareness of the cultural pressures these young girls endure and the dire need for societal change regarding beauty standards.

Takeaways

🌟 Traditional beauty standards pressure young girls into force-feeding practices.
🍽️ The forced diet consists of 9,000 calories daily, often leading to severe health issues.
💔 This custom increases risks of diseases like diabetes and heart ailments.
🚨 Women resort to illegal drugs to gain weight quickly, worsening health prospects.
🌍 Cultural norms in Mauritania perpetuate harmful beauty ideals.
🔍 The narrator immerses in the culture to understand the impact of force-feeding.
👧 Girls as young as five endure the tiring and harmful process.
🏺 Parents prioritize weight as a symbol of beauty and marital attractiveness.
⚠️ Despite known dangers, these practices continue due to societal beliefs.
📣 The documentary sparks discussion on the need for change in beauty standards.

Timeline

00:00:00 - 00:05:00
Monet and Hindu, two young girls from Mauritania, are subjected to force-feeding to make them appear wealthier and more attractive for marriage. Their families, despite the severe drought and poverty, prioritize fattening the girls, a tradition that claims fatter girls are more desirable. Both girls are currently of healthy weight, but are expected to gain seven kilos by the end of the two-month feeding season. This practice, common among Mauritanian girls, poses long-term health risks such as diabetes and heart disease. The feeding begins with 3000 calories breakfasts equivalent to 10 cheeseburgers, aiming to make them look older and better suited for early marriage.
00:05:00 - 00:10:00
The video discusses social perceptions of beauty and weight in Mauritania compared to Western standards. The mothers believe that gaining weight is crucial for their daughters' marriage prospects, while Western beauty standards often emphasize slimness. The documentary-maker shows local women pictures of international celebrities to understand the differences in beauty ideals. Meanwhile, the force-feeding continues, with the girls consuming massive amounts of food under their mothers' supervision. The pressure for rapid weight gain is immense, despite health concerns that include diabetes and kidney failure. Cultural beliefs strongly valorize this practice, indicating a deep social divide on body image.
00:10:00 - 00:15:00
Undercover footage exposes the ease of buying weight-gain drugs in Mauritania, used by force-feeders and young women alike to rapidly gain weight. These black-market drugs, including steroids and antihistamines, pose severe health threats, such as heart attacks. The documentary highlights the case of a girl who died after ingesting animal steroids. Despite awareness of these dangers, there is a persistent societal pressure for women to be fat as a symbol of beauty and power. This segment emphasizes the hazardous extremes to which some Mauritanian women go to adhere to their culture's ideals.
00:15:00 - 00:22:38
The narrator participates in the force-feeding to personally experience its effects, finding it a grueling and painful process. Despite the physical discomfort and health risks, young girls, some as young as five, endure this to comply with societal expectations. The narrator empathizes with the immense pressure on Mauritanian women to fit a cultural image of beauty that equates fatness with wealth and desirability. However, she notes that a shift towards more independent lives for women could eventually lead to a change in these oppressive standards. The video concludes by calling for more awareness and action to improve the situation for women in Mauritania.

Mind Map

Video Q&A

Where does this documentary take place?
The documentary focuses on Mauritania, where force-feeding young girls is practiced to make them appear more attractive for marriage.
Why are girls in Mauritania force-fed?
Parents believe extra weight makes girls look wealthier and more attractive for potential suitors.
What kind of diet are the girls subjected to?
They consume up to 9,000 calories a day, including camel's milk and porridge, which can lead to severe health issues.
What are the health risks associated with force-feeding the girls?
The practice increases the risk of diabetes, heart diseases, and kidney failure in young girls.
What drugs are used to promote weight gain and what are the risks?
Some women illegally use steroids and antihistamines to artificially gain weight, despite associated health risks.
How young are girls when they start being force-fed?
Girls as young as five or six are subjected to eating large quantities every day during their feeding season.
What does the narrator do to better understand the practice?
The narrator joins the villages, experiencing force-feeding themselves to understand the practice's impact.
What is the target calorie intake for these girls by the end of their feeding season?
The goal is for the girls to gain weight quickly, reaching an extra 16,000 calories a day by the end of the feeding process.
What cultural belief underlies the force-feeding practice?
An extreme cultural emphasis sees weight as synonymous with beauty, leading to this harmful tradition.
How does society view this practice in Mauritania?
Despite the obvious negative impacts, there is widespread societal support for maintaining these outdated beauty ideals.

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Subtitles

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00:00:05
this is eleven-year-old Monet she's
00:00:09
about to be force-fed to make her fat
00:00:12
her friend Hindu is joining her on a
00:00:15
nine thousand calorie a day diet they're
00:00:19
growing up in a desperately poor country
00:00:21
that's going through a devastating
00:00:23
drought but their moms believe fatter
00:00:26
girls look wealthier and more beautiful
00:00:28
crucial when trying to attract a husband
00:00:35
to join one eye on Hindu we're driving
00:00:38
through Mauritania into the Sahara
00:00:40
Desert I'm soon put to work hope I do a
00:00:46
useful job they're preparing a special
00:00:49
tent to force-feed the girls during the
00:00:51
rainy season which will last two months
00:00:53
food is more plentiful than but families
00:00:56
will go without to help their fattening
00:00:58
process
00:01:00
I would make a useless nomad
00:01:09
these nomads survived by keeping camels
00:01:12
and goats a married daughter means one
00:01:15
less mouth to feed one eye is only 11
00:01:18
but a quarter of girls in poor
00:01:21
communities married before they're 15
00:01:24
the kind of man although they do this
00:01:28
mr. y-you don't think you're pretty now
00:01:40
when I an Han do agree to let me weigh
00:01:43
them take your shoes off to find out how
00:01:46
healthy they are happy in my 16.2 for
00:01:51
her age
00:01:51
that's very normal Indian stand straight
00:01:56
53 forehand she's also a healthy weight
00:02:00
so both girls are healthy weights for
00:02:04
their age and their height by the end of
00:02:08
the feeding season their parents Hotel
00:02:10
Putin over Stern over seven killers
00:02:14
Mona's mom Tahir will be in charge of
00:02:17
the feeding what are your biggest wishes
00:02:21
and dreams for your daughter RZ o sham
00:02:27
mother with Holly she had a talk how
00:02:32
would you feel if she never succeeds to
00:02:36
get fat well then her tummy that held
00:02:40
Helen have you sorry everything is ready
00:02:44
for the feeding to start the next
00:02:45
morning
00:02:54
[Music]
00:03:01
day one and Takia is preparing the first
00:03:04
meal of the day she's been a Bella ha a
00:03:08
force field for years but until now
00:03:12
she's never force-fed her own daughter
00:03:15
around the quarter of mauritania girls
00:03:17
are force-fed but in rural areas it can
00:03:21
be as high as three quarters how long do
00:03:24
they have to consume all of this is it
00:03:26
all for today and that wouldn't hurt
00:03:29
okay then I perceive the world bossy
00:03:35
you're a bull they know whether one day
00:03:38
somebody's dick what if you push her so
00:03:44
hard that she ends up getting hurt what
00:03:46
if what you want for her isn't good for
00:03:49
her the long-term health risks for the
00:03:59
girls include diabetes heart disease and
00:04:02
kidney failure
00:04:08
Takia makes Monet and hen do each drink
00:04:12
and liter of sweetened camel's milk
00:04:17
that's followed by porridge
00:04:23
and then Christmas
00:04:30
it takes the girls two hours to force
00:04:32
down all the food
00:04:35
[Music]
00:04:37
this is just breakfast but each girl has
00:04:41
already eaten about 3000 calories
00:04:44
equivalent to 10 cheeseburgers extra
00:04:48
white makes girls look older as if
00:04:50
they've reached puberty putting more
00:04:53
pressure on Monet to marry young you
00:04:59
want to get married
00:05:02
no why not but your mom says that girls
00:05:11
here should get married when they're 12
00:05:12
13 years old while lunch is cooking the
00:05:23
women introduced me to fashion
00:05:25
mauritania style
00:05:45
I've brought some magazines to find out
00:05:47
what they think of other countries ideas
00:05:50
of beauty
00:05:51
so in here they put pictures of women
00:05:55
that everybody wants to look like and
00:05:58
dress like what do you think about her
00:06:00
body mm-hmm do you think that where I
00:06:08
come from women starve themselves and go
00:06:11
on diets and make themselves throw up to
00:06:14
lose weight no geek Kim Kardashian she's
00:06:28
meant to be she's very beautiful and
00:06:30
she's very care but she's actually big
00:06:36
so you like to in Kardashian Kim
00:06:46
Kardashian is an exception so how about
00:06:49
this woman right now
00:06:53
she's considered one of the most
00:06:55
beautiful woman on the planet right now
00:07:07
the women here insist a man think fat is
00:07:10
beautiful
00:07:11
I wonder if that's true Abu battery is
00:07:15
one of the group's leaders partying
00:07:22
about even FC and then the mahogany
00:07:24
lemaître fish Randy Newman open airlock
00:07:27
vs ramany vs ramany a la Hache it neener
00:07:33
neener socio is she a muna contra la
00:07:37
rochelle eternity could Marilla
00:07:40
what personal question though am I am I
00:07:43
am i fat or am i skinny like what do I
00:07:46
have to do to look better than her
00:07:48
yourself inside your condition and I was
00:07:50
taught about the word in her business
00:07:52
videos of our generation and a very
00:07:55
condensed without format - were you
00:07:57
Monday yesterday it's lunchtime
00:08:03
Mona and her friend Hindu are made to
00:08:06
force down another 4,000 calories each
00:08:15
cow has now eaten the equivalent of more
00:08:18
than 20 cheeseburgers Henry's mom Fatima
00:08:25
to uses her stick to make sure that
00:08:28
girls keep going
00:08:29
how do you convince her to carry on
00:08:32
vastly critical Zionists have it
00:08:38
rockball honey
00:08:43
do you not feel bad when you do this
00:08:49
Annamarie monoface monoface is energy Oh
00:08:54
to interfere dr. Shimada tell her about
00:08:58
negative things
00:09:02
[Music]
00:09:05
when a an hindus evening meal brings
00:09:08
today's calorie count to a massive nine
00:09:10
thousand almost twice what a heavyweight
00:09:13
boxer and nearly five times the World
00:09:17
Health Organization's recommendation for
00:09:19
girls their age by the end of the
00:09:22
feeding season they'll be eating sixteen
00:09:25
thousand calories a day suddenly the
00:09:33
food has to be cleared away
00:09:35
there's a massive sunstroke coming this
00:09:37
way and we have to take cover we have
00:09:39
we've had to pack everything up
00:09:46
[Music]
00:10:07
[Music]
00:10:11
early the next morning I discover a
00:10:14
group of younger girls being force-fed
00:10:16
in a camp nearby sure smack zeynep ooh
00:10:25
and aha
00:10:27
Fatima to praha and Zara's are all under
00:10:31
10 years old the feeder cider is
00:10:35
expanding their stomachs with milk and
00:10:37
couscous to permanently increase their
00:10:40
appetites is this for each each girl or
00:10:44
do they share this that our toughness of
00:10:49
dating so do Shara they were shot
00:10:56
when the girls feel unwell the feeder
00:10:58
tells them to make themselves sick so
00:11:00
they can keep eating
00:11:20
watching the girls eat I can see why
00:11:23
this is often referred to as gavage the
00:11:25
term used for force-feeding geese to
00:11:27
make foie gras
00:11:30
[Music]
00:11:37
you care what's wrong Fred who
00:11:46
show me where it hurts
00:11:48
[Music]
00:11:51
have you been sick surely a good loss
00:11:56
will you go are you still gonna make her
00:11:59
to kibosh if I do is this normal
00:12:04
is she gonna be okay the Beluga enough
00:12:06
unmarriable
00:12:07
yeah please tell Sharon imagine what a
00:12:09
bummer this looks like child abuse but
00:12:13
no law specifically forbids it
00:12:17
Fatima to stat Abdullah he tells me
00:12:21
force feeding is good for her hand in
00:12:26
hand engineer in the quiescent Hydra
00:12:29
near horribly mutilated lockup keep the
00:12:33
prepare her it's not the accident the
00:12:36
Machine being willing putting pressure
00:12:40
on your body to look a certain way
00:12:42
especially for us women is nothing new
00:12:45
I've done it my girlfriend's have done
00:12:48
it but what makes this quite different
00:12:53
and a bit shocking is that these are
00:12:57
little girls and this pain and torture
00:13:01
which could potentially have quite
00:13:05
serious health issues is being put on
00:13:08
these girls by their parents
00:13:14
I rejoined takia who is preparing more
00:13:21
food for her daughter Mona and her
00:13:23
friend Hindu but Tahir has a question
00:13:31
for me the feeder just asked if we have
00:13:35
any medication that could help her
00:13:37
daughter gain more weight she says these
00:13:48
empty bottles contain drugs that help
00:13:50
girls get baptized so she's even used
00:13:52
them herself to put on extra weight to
00:13:55
keep attractive where did you hear about
00:13:57
this who told you about this
00:14:02
[Music]
00:14:12
Ricky's words were funny the drugs come
00:14:19
from the capital whack shot I had there
00:14:24
I want to find out more about this
00:14:27
dangerous trade I go straight to one of
00:14:30
the largest hospitals in the city
00:14:34
this the doctors won't talk on camera
00:14:37
but tell me that drugs are easy to buy I
00:14:42
found a couple of girls who are willing
00:14:45
to help me find the drugs and dressing
00:14:48
me up so I look like a local how can we
00:14:52
go undercover they explained the drugs
00:14:57
aren't only bought by force feeders many
00:14:59
of their friends buy them to put on
00:15:01
weight and look glamorous they guide me
00:15:09
to a major market and I filmed them with
00:15:11
a hidden camera it's illegal for anyone
00:15:18
but licensed pharmacists to sell
00:15:19
medication but I can see at least 10
00:15:22
stalls selling medicines we approach the
00:15:26
first of them
00:15:34
they buy a steroid dexamethasone which
00:15:38
affects the body's metabolism and an
00:15:45
antihistamine cyproheptadine which has
00:15:49
the side effect of increasing weight
00:15:58
with the drugs left foot a woman can
00:16:00
pile on weight very quickly risking
00:16:03
problems like a heart attack or kidney
00:16:05
failure that was too easy
00:16:17
I was told it was easy but this was just
00:16:22
I mean they weren't even trying to hide
00:16:24
it they are openly displaying these
00:16:27
drugs on top of all these other
00:16:29
day-to-day things that they're selling
00:16:31
like necklaces and I don't know
00:16:33
lipsticks it was that easy
00:16:41
[Music]
00:16:45
the next morning I meet the iveco family
00:16:49
they know how dangerous these drugs are
00:16:55
Miriam says her daughter aza - just Eric
00:16:58
meant for animals
00:17:11
her skin began to turn black could you
00:17:14
know oh this the world I know that she
00:17:19
really didn't
00:17:20
with onions in intrud and
00:17:27
the next day is a died
00:17:30
[Music]
00:17:38
despite what's happened a minute who
00:17:40
tells me she now takes the same drug
00:17:42
that killed her sister how do you think
00:17:47
your mom would feel especially after
00:17:50
what happened to your sister if she did
00:17:52
find out that you're taking these pills
00:17:53
to kid
00:17:56
there wasn't a moon hunter funny thing
00:18:00
was a hundred meters I mean she meant to
00:18:03
walk up said oh my god AHA tantum she
00:18:06
really wasn't alone there are no figures
00:18:11
on how many women are using these drugs
00:18:13
to put our weight or how many are dying
00:18:16
but everyone I spoke to said the use of
00:18:19
these drugs is widespread this is a
00:18:22
society where a woman's biggest power is
00:18:26
to be beautiful and to be beautiful you
00:18:29
have to be fat that's it and that really
00:18:33
sets the priority for what these women
00:18:35
do and the lengths they're willing to go
00:18:38
to achieve that ideal
00:18:44
in the desert Monet and hen duo are
00:18:46
still in the feeding tent is their
00:18:50
fourth day being force-fed they tell me
00:18:53
they're feeling nauseous and tired when
00:18:57
you're a mummy and your daughter says
00:18:59
mommy I don't want to do garage I don't
00:19:03
want to be fat what would you tell her
00:19:09
and if she says I don't think that is
00:19:12
pretty
00:19:20
[Music]
00:19:28
the best way for me to really understand
00:19:31
gavage and what it feels like and get a
00:19:34
more realistic idea about it we're gonna
00:19:38
have to try it myself
00:19:47
it's the same huge breakfast as before
00:19:51
which in calories carbs and sugar it
00:19:56
takes us three hours to force down all
00:19:58
the food it's not even lunchtime and
00:20:07
with each consumed a thousand calories
00:20:10
more than I normally eat in a day
00:20:16
I really need to go masala I'm so full
00:20:25
and I've been instructed to go out for a
00:20:28
little walk to help the food settle
00:20:29
before lunch it really is like a
00:20:34
marathon it's really filling and dry and
00:20:39
you have to keep drinking it putting it
00:20:41
out with water and it's just like not
00:20:44
very nice it's like a really weird
00:20:46
texture and my tummy tell me it really
00:20:48
hurts and it's quick look at that it's
00:20:52
quite swollen after barely half an hour
00:21:01
it's time for a calorie rich lunch
00:21:04
greasy white rice vegetables nuts and
00:21:07
chicken
00:21:13
I can't take it anymore and have to stop
00:21:25
but Monet is forced to continue my tummy
00:21:31
hurts
00:21:32
I feel really bloated I feel sleepy I
00:21:35
can't really think I'm constantly
00:21:38
thirsty but I just can't it's it's
00:21:41
horrible it's like everything I eat it
00:21:43
just stays right here just builds up its
00:21:46
I can't believe girls as young as five
00:21:54
six years old have to consume a similar
00:21:58
amount day in day out
00:22:04
Monet and I both feel pressure to look a
00:22:07
certain way but I at least have the
00:22:10
freedom to choose only when more women
00:22:14
in mauritania have the chance of an
00:22:16
independent life will they also have
00:22:20
that freedom
00:22:25
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