Mauritania

Mauritania is in northwest Africa, and has an Atlantic seacoast. It borders with Senegal, Algeria, Ghana, and western Sahara. It was a French colony until it gained independence in 1960. Mauritania has a population of 3 million (2005 estimate), a birth rate of 41 per 1,000, and an infant mortality rate of 69.5 per 1,000 live births. The country's fertility rate is 5.7 births per woman (2008), is the 15th highest in the world; the maternal mortality rate at 1 per 100 births is also one of the highest in the world. The neonatal mortality rate in 70 per 1,000 live births.

Only 5 percent of women report using modern methods of contraception, and abortion is only legal to save the woman's life. During the colonial period, the French did not build any hospitals—in 1937, there were only 10 subsidiary hospitals, seven maternitty centers, and nine European medical officers in the entire country of Mauritania. After independence, health services still relied on French doctors, having local nurses and midwives. The main hospital was in Nouakchott, the capital, where the National School of Nurses and Midwives was established in 1966. There are also now subhospitals in Nouadhibou, Atar, and Rosso, as well as 21 clinics that have helped with women's health care and birthing.

The French did little to change the nature of Mauritanian society, which remains patriarchal, and is underpinned by Islamic beliefs, although the social conditions vary considerably from one part of the country to another. Surveys of women in the country have revealed that those in the Beydane Moorish communities have the least physical and social mobility. This is partially due to the fact that in an urban or village society, women are prevailed [Page 741]upon not to leave family homes. In contrast, in the nomadic societies such as the Tuareg, women and children had greater freedom of movement.

In 1992, the position of Minister for Women's Affairs was established, and in recent years some Beydane Moorish women have found positions in business, mainly based in their homes rather than working for other people. In addition, the Société Nationale pour le Développement Rural (SON-ADER) has provided help for women starting up their own businesses, providing many of them with greater independence.

Save the Children ranks Mauritania 17th on the Mothers' Index, 18th on the Women's Index, and 14th on the Children's Index among 33 Tier III or least developed countries.