Tell Mauritania: Force Feeding Girls for Underage Marriage Must Stop

Leblouh, or gavage, is the practice of force-feeding girls, sometimes as young as five years old. The barbaric practice is especially prevalent in rural areas of the west African nation of Mauritania, where obesity is viewed as a sign of wealth and power. Gavage is reportedly experiencing a significant comeback.

To make girls more desirable they are forced to consume enormous quantities of food and liquid, and hurt if they don't eat and drink. A six-year-old might typically be forced to drink 20 liters of camel's milk, and eat two kilos of millet mixed with two cups of butter, every day. Also of concern is the increase in “chemical gavage” using growth hormones and steroids. Girls as young as eight can reach 300 lbs (140 kg) putting their health at enormous risk.

Sign the petition and help pressure the government of Mauritania to end this horrific practice.

The archaic practice of leblouh is not only barbaric but detrimental to the health and well being of those subjected to it. Please increase education and awareness of the damages it causes, and act to ban the practice.

Update #29 years ago
This is great! Thanks to everyone who signed and shared this petition. We are now up to almost 40,000 ignatures in one month. I wasn't expecting this. Please keep sharing and telling your friennds about this horrible practice. If we keep up the good work we may get to hundreds of thousands of signatures.
Update #19 years ago
Over 7000 signatures in one week! Great! Let's spread the word about this petition, sharing it as much as you can on the web & email with friends & family
Online petitions are an effective way of bringing matters to public attention, forcing authorities to do something to change the status quo. Petitions have helped solve environmental, social and political issues.
Let's keep up pressure making people aware of this very little-known problem. Let's help Mauritania have a better future.Thank you
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