Its name is. . .
the Divorced Women's Market. Mauritanian women, when they get divorced, they become more desirable. This is called the train of life.
Mauritania is an Arab country in northwest Africa. Its capital is Nouakchott and its most important port is the port of Nouadhibou. Its population is 4.
5 million. It gained independence from France in 1960. Its area is one million square km and 90% of it is desert, which is part of the Sahara Desert, the largest desert in the world.
Its coastline extends 750 square km on the Atlantic Ocean. This is what they have on their currency, a camel, a ship, a Qur’an, and a train. We are in Mauritania, guys.
Welcome. This is called Daraa, the national dress. You should roll up your sleeve like this.
Then you walk like this. It is a modern city, Nouakchott. Let's get to know the people of Mauritania.
This Arab country is in the far west of Africa, where the desert meets the ocean. This doesn’t happen only in Namibia, but also in Mauritania. This mosque is the oldest in the city, because this city is modern and not very old.
Nouakchott has no ancient history. -Hello. -Welcome.
Hello, hello. Mauritania. Let's go pray, guys.
This Saudi mosque in the capital. . .
Mauritania. . .
. was gifted to Mauritania from Saudi Arabia during the reign of late King Faisal, in the 70s. It's the largest mosque and Islamic landmark Nouakchott.
-Nouakchott? -Yes. -Mauritania?
-Mauritania. From north to south there’s the Sahara, this is Mauritania, masters of the sand. My outfit is spot on.
-I'm from Chinguetti. -You look like a groom. Elegant like a groom.
Consumed daily, Mauritania’s national drink is atay, which means tea. This is the local market in Mauritania. -Three to four times a day?
-Yes. -It's stronger than espresso, right? -Yes.
What a welcome! . .
. But they make it in a special way. Notice the foam they make in the cup before they pour the tea into it.
These are Mauritanian traditions. This foam is done on purpose. They make foam in the cup before they pour the tea into it.
I thought it was sugar at first. Now the Mauritanian tea is ready. In the name of God.
It's like a stimulant. Its effect is stronger than Italian espresso. Stronger than everything.
They drink this every day and everywhere, in cities and in the desert from north to south, right? -Yes. -This is the traditional drink.
Yes. -Welcome to Mauritania. -This is the authentic Mauritanian drink.
The authentic drink! Good evening. Everything here is traditional, the tent, the Daraa, the traditional Mauritanian food.
. . -And the tea.
-. . .
and Mauritanian tea. -Is this couscous? -Yes.
You feel as if Algeria, Morocco, and Mauritania are almost one country because of their great similarity. Here in the Sahara Desert. Most Mauritanians went to traditional schools, they studied poetry and prose and learned to read, and thus Mauritanians began to speak classical Arabic.
That's why they call it the country of a million poets. There is a Kuwaiti newspaper that did a piece on Mauritania in the 60s, I think, and they found that people write poetry everywhere here, so they called Mauritania the country of a million poets. We are here hosted by the great poet.
. . -What is your name?
-Hamn Yousef. God bless you. It's a country that’s been neglected for a long time due to the lack of resources and poor management.
It is a country of deserts, poets, and culture, where they study Islam and the Qur’an, and all its inhabitants are Muslims. It has the longest trans-Saharan train in the world. It is a country of gold, iron, copper, and fishing.
Come, have a look. Imagine the sunset view here every day! Why don't people know much about Mauritania?
Natural gas was discovered here only 4 years ago. Next year they will start exporting and Mauritania, God willing, will flourish, this Arab country. This market in Mauritania is called the Divorced Women's Market.
Mauritanian women. This is the Divorced Women's Market. We are here in the Divorced Women's Market.
The percentage of divorced women in Mauritania is very high, but divorce in Mauritania is celebrated! The situation for Mauritanian women is different from anywhere else. They will steal your camera.
They will steal it? -They will steal it. -Why would they steal it?
They might steal it. No, no, we are in a safe and secure county, God willing. -God willing.
-God willing. There are men more willing to marry divorced women than single women. Divorced women in Mauritania have a higher chance of marriage than others.
But why? I will tell you the story. This entire market is theirs.
Every Mauritanian woman who gets divorced comes here and sells all the furniture in her house. Some women become traders here. An important note, Mauritanian women become more desirable after they get divorced!
You sell all your furniture here, like. . .
This entire furniture and. . .
. . .
and the bags. Divorce is a sad occasion for you, but a happy occasion for us. -Divorce!
-Yes. When a woman is divorced here, a celebration is held for her. A celebration for divorced women?
She and I are divorced, and there are many divorced women. Divorce for us as Muslims is normal. Divorce is a livelihood for us.
Marriage is also a livelihood. -So you don’t feel sad when you divorce. -We don’t feel sad.
It's just a livelihood that reached an end. This is the way we view it. If a woman gets divorced, she starts trading, buying and selling, and improves her situation.
-Divorce is not a problem for her. -So you're not embarrassed by it? Not at all.
It's just a livelihood that reached an end. There is nothing wrong with divorce. It's not a problem for us.
These are your customs and traditions? Yes, it's normal for us. Here we call it “livelihood.
” -Do you know what livelihood means? -Livelihood? It's just a relationship that's over.
Then someone else comes and the woman marries again. When a woman gets divorced, she receives many marriage offers and then she marries someone. he may spend a long time, or he can leave in a short time this is the mauritanian women Because when a woman gets divorced, she becomes more desirable.
What's the reason? The reason is because she gets more beautiful and more experienced. When someone leaves her, someone else comes and appreciates her more than her ex-husband.
Her new husband takes care of her more than her ex-husband. But doesn't this encourage divorce? Yes, it encourages divorce.
The new husband takes on my responsibility and the responsibility of my children. Mauritanian women are strong, aren't they? Very strong.
Mauritanian women are very strong. They say this is because women have more experience in running the household. We don't have a deferred dower.
-No deferred dower? -No. They don't have deferred dower here so the woman owns everything in the house.
-Is this all the furniture of the house? -Yes. You took all the stuff from your husband and.
. . I took all the furniture from my house and my husband.
We buy and sell furniture here. Mauritanian women have a large and prominent role in Mauritanian society. They are literally the mistress of the house.
It is even strongly evident within decision-making centers, in the parliament and the ministries. . .
. Regarding the issue of human respect, follow the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad and look at the way he treated his wives. Follow that approach.
