“I couldn’t go to school because of the war,” says Ola, a Syrian refugee who was married at 14 years. “We had to stay at home, the schools closed. I studied only until 6th grade.” The Syrian war has created a vortex of conditions, such as displacement and poverty as well as fears about the so-called “honour” and safety of girls that have prompted families to marry off their daughters. “I left Aleppo six years ago,” says Fatima, a Syrian refugee living in a camp in Jordan. “We used to go to the school, then come home. I did my homework, went out with my friends … If the problems stop, I think I will go back. Because of the current problems, it’s all terror and fear.” Jordan is now home to more than 650,000 Syrian refugees. UNICEF says there is an epidemic of child marriage among them and it’s on the rise. From the onset of the Syrian war in 2011 to the present, child marriage has spiked from 15 to 36 percent in the kingdom. European countries, such as Sweden and Germany, that have welcomed large numbers of Syrian refugees are also grappling with a dilemma: permit child marriage or separate families. Child brides commonly face domestic violence, restricted movement and are often not given a voice when it comes to making decisions in the family. No matter the justifications families give, the ICRW says, child marriage is “a violation of human rights and a form of violence against girls”.
Sep 2020. Syria’s Refugee Child Brides Part 2
