Morocco’s Single Mothers Face Legal and Social Stigma

Being a single mother is considered a criminal offense in Morocco. Jeanne (pseudonym), a 20-year-old Congolese woman, experienced the bitter experience upon her arrival in the kingdom when she became pregnant after a rape. "It was horrible, they didn’t touch me, as if I smelled bad," she confides to EFE, after spending a day at the hospital in Nador.

Extramarital relations are punished by Moroccan law and, consequently, a woman who becomes pregnant without being legally married risks a sentence of 1 to 12 months in prison. Moroccan feminists are calling for the repeal of this offense in the ongoing reform of the Penal Code and the Family Code in the kingdom.

The association "100% Mamans de Tanger" assists these single mothers, offering them housing and helping them find employment and gain self-confidence. Kaoutar is one of them. The young Moroccan, 19 years old in 2016, became pregnant by her boyfriend. But the latter did not acknowledge the pregnancy. She finally gave birth alone at the hospital in Tangier.

In addition to deprivation of liberty, single mothers are marginalized and their children are the most affected by this discrimination. Some are abandoned, while others are not registered at birth. Others see the mention "Bint zina" or child of a "zina" (extramarital relationship) written on their identity documents.