As a social phenomenon, the abandonment of children, especially those born out of wedlock, is on the rise in Morocco, angering human rights activists and attracting the attention of the government. In this sense, the Minister of Justice, Abdellatif Ouahbi, announced this week a new measure envisaged by his department, thus obliging the biological parents of the child to assume their civil responsibility.
But this abandoned child is the result e the error of two people”, considers the Minister of Justice, Abdellatif Ouahbi. And ” this child is a legal citizen and should be cared for“, he underlined, during a meeting organized by the Lafquih Titouani Foundation.
“Sif DNA proves that an extramarital affair between a man and a woman led to a pregnancy and then to the birth of a child, the parents of the latter must take care of him until he reaches his 21 year “said the minister.
For him, ” if it is the mother who provides custody, the father will have to pay this allowance until the child reaches the age of 21”.
This new measure will be introduced into the penal code and provides for the reduction of this phenomenon and above all, the accountability of the parents concerned. ” The one night party is payable for 21 years. It’s better than abandoning the child in the street“, insists Ouahbi.
According to data collected by the “Insaf” Association, a leading defender of human, women’s and children’s rights, around 3,000 children are born outside marriage per year, which contributes to the constant increase the dropout rate. The NGO notably noted an undeniable increase in number of single mothers who often decide to abandon their children. Result of the races: Some 70 children abandoned per day.
The Association notes in this regard that the situation of these single mothers embodies a set of ” interconnected and compound violations“whether at the legal, social, psychological or economic level.
The question of sexual life outside marriage is difficult to discuss, especially in a religious context, since it is in Islam a ” violation of all societal norms, and sex outside of marriage remains a grave religious sin“, emphasizes Insaf.
This subject constitutes a gross attack on public morals and often leads to the discrimination or marginalization of these single mothers by society, the activists explain in this regard, specifying that this is a ” tragic affair which concerns all women of all social classes.
For “Insaf”, the situation of single mothers in Morocco is characterized by ” social fragility and emotional deprivation‘, and is revealed as ‘ indicator of human rights gaps in legislation relating to this group and violation of their rights“.
As for the legal scale, Moroccan laws and the family code are not aligned with the reality and experience of Moroccan single mothers. The NGO recalls having indicated on many occasions that there is an inconsistency at this level, in the sense that the texts ” do not recognize this category of women and do not provide the necessary protection for them or their children“.
” Lhe problem of the single mother in Morocco alone concentrates a considerable number of abuses. The 2011 Constitution enshrines total equality between men and women. Morocco has also adopted several international conventions for the protection of human rights, women’s rights, children’s rights… Nevertheless, the reality does not fully encompass these advances enshrined in these different legal instruments. This is why the Sovereign did not fail to mention, in his last Speech from the Throne, the shortcomings contained in the Family Code”, believes the association.
In addition, “Insaf” reiterated his involvement in the royal process which aspires to revise and improve the status of women“, since many laws” no longer respect the fundamental rights of women in general, and of single mothers and their children in particular“.