he world is a strange place - and not every country equates slimness with beauty. The Islamic Republic of Mauritania presents an opposite viewpoint to the West:

"To men here, fat is sexy. And in this patriarchal region, many Mauritanian women do everything possible - and have everything possible done to them - to put on pounds."

The fascinating feature in the NY Times explains how female obesity is a measure of power, wealth, and beauty.

In years gone by, families would undertake the practice of "gavage" - a cruel system of force-feeding.

"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."

Nowadays - the government is trying the undo the culture - by pushing a "slim-down" campaign. However, old stereotypes are hard to change in an environment that it is not swamped with mass media.

Nearly three-fourths of Mauritanian women do not watch television, and an even greater share do not listen to the radio.