Fat Houses
Women fattened up to be married.
Marriageable women are kept hidden in a room for six months, eating huge amounts of food and being massaged to make them more desirable to potential husbands.
It is a procedure that has been banned for two years in Nigeria, and is closely linked with FGM. However, in many rural places people are still keeping their daughters in isolation for 6 months prior to their wedding. They believe that fatness shows health and prosperity, making the woman more attractive to potential suitors. Fat experts make their living off massaging these women's bodies on a daily basis to make sure their newly gained weight distributes in the right places. However, there are many women campaigning against this tradition, believing it an injustice.
Produced by Marion Mayor-Hohdahl
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