The war in Syria has driven half the population to flight. Over five million have fled to neighbouring countries, living in poverty and without hope for the future. As a result, more and more Syrian girls are getting married before they turn 18.
In Lebanon, where there is no legal minimum age for marriage, 22 per cent of Syrian refugee girls aged 15–19 are already married, according to the 2018 Vulnerability Assessment for Syrian Refugees (VASyR) report.
This has a huge impact on the lives of young girls, who are stripped of their human rights as a result of being married off before they are able to give adult consent.
Read also: What you need to know about Syrian child marriage
When we met Dima and her family they were living in an informal tented settlement in the Bekaa Valley. To protect the family, we have changed their names.
She was 13 and he was 17
The family home is constructed of wooden poles and plastic sheets over a concrete floor. The roof leaks and the floor floods when it rains. Outside, there is mud everywhere. This is the daily reality for not just Dima’s family, but also an estimated 88,000 of the 1.5 million Syrian refugees residing in Lebanon.
Lack of money and squalid living conditions cause many parents to marry their daughters at a very young age. Everyone wants the best for their children, and many believe that an early marriage will improve their daughter's situation and ensure a safer and better future.
I should never have allowed Dima to get married. I will not allow my other daughters to get married until they are in their twenties.Hiba, Dima's mother
Dima’s mother, Hiba, was the only breadwinner supporting a family of 10. She reached a point where she felt her only option was to arrange the marriage of her eldest daughter. Dima was only 13 years old at the time, and the boy she married was just 17.
Hiba believed that this would provide her daughter with a better life, free from the struggles of her family. But Dima’s new husband treated her badly and they didn’t get along. She struggled for a year before they divorced, and she moved back in with her parents.
Remarried at 17
To avoid the stigma of being a divorced woman, Dima remarried at the age of 17. Her new husband was ten years older than her and Dima hoped things would go better this time around. However, her husband was abusive and did not care about her at all. When Dima became pregnant, he left her for another woman, providing no financial support. Dima had to move back in with her family once again.
When Hiba realised Dima's problems and the difficult situation she had put her daughter in, she began attending a course about gender-based violence, hosted by a local aid organisation. She began to regret arranging Dima’s early marriage.
“I should never have allowed Dima to get married,” Hiba admits. “After attending the GBV session I understood that early marriage is a form of abuse to our children. I abused Dima and I learned it the hard way. I will not allow my other daughters to get married until they are in their twenties.”
A single mother with no rights
Dima's three-month-old son, Imad, has never met his father, who has no interest in taking responsibility for his son and is withholding the official documents needed for Dima to get a divorce. Dima is therefore unable to register Imad’s birth, leaving him undocumented.
I am heartbroken over my son – he is innocent and should not be treated like this by his father who should care for himDima, 17
The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) has provided information, advice and legal assistance to help the family with Imad’s birth registration and prevent him becoming stateless.
“I hate being a divorced, single mother. But the alternative was worse: I would then have been forced to live in an unhappy marriage,” Dima explains. “I am heartbroken over my son – he is innocent and should not be treated like this by his father who should care for him.”
Working to prevent early marriages
Dima's mother and several of the other women in the settlement have had their eyes opened to the risks of early marriage. They are now working to raise awareness in their community to try to prevent early marriages from happening.
“We are talking about the consequences and dangers of early marriage,” says Jawaher, NRC’s community representative in the settlement. “The men are supporting us more and more once they have seen that girls are being abused and more couples are divorcing. Before, we thought that early marriages would improve the lives of our children and lift the burden on poor families who couldn’t afford to feed them.”
“Now, we know better. A young girl or boy is not equipped or ready to start a family. It affects the couple’s life negatively, as it increases the risk of domestic violence and poses higher risks to the reproductive health of young girls who get pregnant,” she concludes.