The president of the Moroccan association “Solidarité féminine” Aïcha Ech-Chenna has said that on average “24 babies are thrown in the garbage everyday in Morocco” in a statement quoted in the Spanish daily Mujer Hoy.

“Fifty thousand children are born out of wedlock each year, more than 8,000 of whom are abandoned immediately. On average, 24 babies are thrown in the garbage everyday,” declared Aïcha Ech-Chenna.

Further details are contained in an article that featured in French daily, Le Monde, which states that 300 bodies of infants are found every year in the garbage of Casablanca alone. It explains that women get rid of their children for fear of the authorities, the family shame and social stigma that is associated with children outside of the marital institution.

The shocking revelation was made the famous Moroccan activist in Spain. Ech-Chenna who has been expanding her outreach outside of Morocco also stated that there are no precise statistics about the number of single mothers in Morocco.

“There is no official number of single mothers, but 10 years ago they were already over half a million,” said the 78-year-old militant. This number is already high considering that the population in Morocco does not exceed 36 million.

The Moroccan penal code prohibits abortion and gives a one-year prison sentence to people engaged in sex outside of wedlock.

The Spanish daily Mujer Hoy also highlights that the case of Hajar Raissouni, the journalist that was recently detained on accusations of abortion and subsequently granted a royal pardon, is representative of the problems faced by Moroccan women in this area.