Monsurat
The Islamic republic of Mauritania is a sovereign country in Northwest Africa. It is the 11th largest country in Africa and 28th largest in the world.
Politically and Culturally, Mauritania is part of the Arab world and its sole language is Arabic. In this sub-Saharan African country, there is a practice of celebrating divorce by women.
Moments after her divorce, a Mauritania woman celebrates as she returns to her family’s home to shriek cries of joy and the steady beat of tambourines. The occasion is marked by parties and dinners held in their honor of the woman.
After her divorce, a new life begins for the woman, free of stigma or shame of a failed marriage. Society never judge her for being divorced. Once it is over, she returns to being an unmarried woman, free to make new choices.
The woman can return to her family home with her children, where her relatives welcome her with sounds of the Zaghrouta, and a shriek cry of joy. Her friends the go ahead to throw her a party full of merriment. Poets grace the occasion to sing praises for her beauty and traits. The poems describe the innumerable number of suitors waiting to ask for her hand in marriage.
In some parts of Mauritania, a bachelor has to organize her divorce party in what is called Tahrish. This is to make the husband jealous and rethink his decision. The bachelor who must have organized the party, makes a show of loving her, showering her with attention and care, flirting with her and praising her beauty and character. He also declares the husband’s idiocy all the while asking, how could he beautify his home with such a rare gem, only to divorce her?
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