Divorce parties are a common ritual in Beidane communities – a large ethnic group with over 100 tribes, spread across southern Morocco, Algeria, Mauritius, Mali and northern Senegal. Though Beidanes live across the borders of five African countries, that hasn’t stopped the millions strong community from keeping their longstanding traditions and rituals alive.

A woman covered in celebratory henna is surrounded by a cheering crowd of her closest family and friends. At first sight, the scene before me resembles a traditional Moroccan wedding. However, the groom won’t be coming because the star of this party is not a bride on her wedding day, but a divorced woman about to return to her parents house.

According to Dr. Bouzid Al Ghaly, a researcher at the Alem and Omran research centre in Rabat and an expert in Beidane culture, the event was originally created to show that divorce was not the end of the world; rather, it's a transitional period that can lead to a new life and possibly another marriage. It is also a way to honour women – to reiterate that they have value regardless of whether they're married or divorced. Additionally, in the past, in a time when communication between groups and families was more difficult than it is today, these elaborate parties were held as a way of announcing to other tribes that the woman was potentially ready to remarry. To really understand the event's modern significance, I spoke with three women – who each requested I only use their first name – about what divorce parties mean to them.

After two years of marriage, Fatemato, 70, returned to her family’s house in the Moroccan city of Smara, along with her daughter. She was never blamed for the failure of her marriage, as is the case in many Middle Eastern societies. "My friends and family welcomed me back and even organised a dinner and a party in my honour,” Fatemato said. "The warm welcome washed away the grief I felt – at least temporarily."

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Two years after splitting from her first husband, she remarried. "The Quran says couples should either 'stay together with honour or separate with kindness,'" she explained. "I am grateful to come from a culture that showed me kindness."