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Rabat – The Insaf Association for single mothers has called on all stakeholders to take urgent measures to endthe exclusion and rejection suffered by single mothers, suggesting the implementation of reforms in sexual education and legal frameworks.
The association has called for the creation of conditions that ensure the dignity, legality and equality of single mothers and their children.
Having been assisted and supported single mothers since 1999, Insaf has proposed the implementation of six measures to guarantee the social inclusion of this marginalized category.
The first is DNA tests, which Insaf says should be systematic and free to detect bloodline. According to the association, single mothers must be recognized as a “single parents” and have the right to own a family record book.
As explained by Insaf, an important step in dealing with the issue of singe mothers is to integrate sex education into public education programs, explaining that both boys and girls must understand the responsibilities and consequences of having sex.
Another request from the Association is that of the right to abortion, which they say should be introduced to avoid situations of great suffering and lasting trauma.
The association also requests the deletion of article 490 of the Criminal Code, which prohibits sexual relations outside marriage. According to the Association, this article criminalizes women as prostitutes, while section 489 represses her.
This law can push women to put themselves and their children in danger, as some abandon their babies at birth, explained the association.
Finally, the identity documents of the children of single mothers must no longer be a factor of stigmatization, says Insaf. The grandfather’s last name should replace that of the absent father.
The association supported this demands with staggering statistics. Between 2003 and 2009, more than 210,000 unmarried mothers were recorded in Morocco, according to a study conducted by Insaf in 2010. Over this period, 24 children were abandoned per day.
In the Casablanca region alone, Insaf estimates the existence of 44,211 children born out of wedlock for the period 2004-2014, approximately 3,366 per year.
For the same period, the study revealed that 9,400 children were abandoned in the same region, an average of 850 cases of abandonment per year, or almost three children per day.
The leaders of the association explained that this miserable reality is due to multiple factors, including psychological and emotional causes as well as the role played by social institutions, such as the family, the school, and the social and economic vulnerability of single mothers.
