Over 50% of Moroccan Women Declare no Preference for Child’s Sex

Rabat – A new note published on Tuesday by Morocco’s High Commission for Planning (HCP) highlights Moroccan parents’ indifference when it comes to their preference for the sex of their children.

More than half of married women wishing to have a child in the future do not declare any preference as to the sex of the child, the note established, adding that this position has increased over the years from 49% in 1997 to 54.4% in 2018.

Indifference to the desired sex of a child has increased in urban areas, from 44.6% in 1997 to 52.2% in 2018, says the HCP. The note explains that this has consequently led to a drop in preference for male offspring, from 25.6% to 19%, and a slight drop in preference for female descent, from 29.8% to 28.8% during the same period.

In rural areas, gender indifference increased from 52.7% in 1997 to 57.2% in 2018, and preference for boys decreased from 26.4% to 19.5% over the same period. Among the women who declared a preference regarding the sex of their desired child, there is neutrality with regard to the sexual identity of the child.

In 1997, 26% of Moroccan women wanted to have a boy while 25% wanted a girl. By 2018, however, women wishing to have a child and who expressed their preference as to the choice of sex of the desired child are inclined towards the female sex, representing 26.4% of women who want a girl, against 19.2% who want a boy.

Women’s preference for the sex of the child may vary depending on their reproduction history, indicating that the indifference towards the sex of the desired child is higher among women with the same number of boys and girls and among women with no children.

Indifference or neutrality in choosing the sex of the desired child among childless women, however, saw a slight decline from 84% in 1997 to 82.5% in 2018, resulting from an urban decline of 82,8% to 78.4% and an increase in rural areas from 84.8% to 88.3% during the same period.

Regarding women with the same number of boys as girls, this indifference increased from 79% in 1997 to 86.5% in 2018, accompanied by an increase in urban areas from 79.2% to 85,1% and in rural areas from 78.9% to 88% during the same period.

Indifference regarding the choice of the sex of the child is lower among women who have children of the same sex, and this indifference decreases as the number of children of the same sex increases.

For instance, 38.1% of women who have given birth to two daughters are indifferent as to the choice of the sex of the child, followed by women with 3 daughters (26.2%), then those with 4 daughters (11.8%).

Also highlighted in the HCP’s document is that the indifference as to the choice of the sex of the desired child is higher among women with only girls than among those with only boys. According to the note, 17.3% of women who have 3 sons against 26,2% of women who have 3 daughters.