Social stigma attached to children born out of wedlock: while Islam positively values the
care of orphaned and abandoned children by others, the legal recognition of the relationship between
the orphaned child and their caregivers is based on the system of Kafala—the Islamic duty
to save any abandoned child, and provide appropriate care and financial support for such children—
which does not allow for inheritance or carrying the same family name of the caregiver.
There is a notable stigma attached to children abandoned as a result of being born out of wedlock.
The same research undertaken in 2003 found that many Sudanese families believed that an
abandoned child will inevitably follow the “immoral behaviour” of the birth parents, that unmarried
mothers should be severely punished, that illegitimate birth was a sin, and that children born out of
wedlock would be found to have “shameful” origins that would affect their childhood and future
marriage prospects. These factors influenced the decision by unmarried mothers to abandon babies
quickly, and placed constraints upon the willingness of other families who may otherwise be
ready to adopt an abandoned child.