Morocco: Study reveals alarming hike in unmarried mothers

Casablanca, Morocco (CNN) — Single mothers in Morocco are breaking records.

A recent study published by a Casablanca support group for single mothers says the number of Morocco’s unmarried mothers in 2009 is at least double the number for 2008 — 27,200 compared to 11,016 the year before, according to the Institution Nationale de Solidarite Avec Les Femmes en Distresse.

In Morocco, like most Muslim countries, it is considered an intolerable shame on a family if a daughter falls pregnant outside of marriage. In many cases, families totally reject a daughter who becomes pregnant before marriage.

Morocco’s unmarried mothers are mostly very young, according to Houda El Bourahi, director of INSAF. The study shows 60% are aged less than 26 and a third less than 20, she said.

According to the 350 page report, the mothers are often in “vulnerable” professions, like house servants, and the majority have a level of schooling which is very low. Often, the women believe that their sexual partners will marry them and so agree to their tactile demands, according to the study.

Yet despite Morocco being modern in so many respects, with most vices of any European country, strong prejudice still remains against unwed mothers from most groups of society.

“It’s time to put an end to prejudices held against these women though who are considered by (Moroccan) society as prostitutes,” said Bourahi. “These women are rejected by their families and by society and are not protected by the law.”

Since the end of 2010, 7000 women in Casablanca alone had been assisted at the organization’s ‘Centre of Listening’ on the outskirts of Casablanca, the commercial capital of Morocco which has a population of almost 4 million. Furthermore, 2000 children have been accepted legally by the civil state and 540 have been recognized by their fathers.

The women’s rights agenda has accelerated quite dramatically in recent years in Morocco largely following an initiative by King Mohamed VI to give women more equality, both at home and in the workplace. A new law adopted in 2004 gave women more rights as wives, for example.

Yet despite progress made in tackling discrimination, few men find unmarried mothers and their offspring as acceptable members of society, despite there being less stigma these days towards women who take up jobs and consider virginity to be an outdated virtue. While many men consider single mothers to be prostitutes, in fact, sex workers only represent a tiny percentage of Morocco’s unmarried mothers.