AMMAN, Jordan
Syrian girls who have fled the civil war in Syria are being pushed into marriages at an early age in Jordan due to poverty and fear of sexual violence in Jordan, according to a report by Save the Children.
And child marriage is not only reported in Jordan, but also in Iraq, Lebanon, Egypt and Turkey, where families consider it the best way to protect their daughters from sexual violence, the report, published on the organization's website said. Save the Children is non-governmental organization that works to protect children's rights around the world.
The report, titled "Too Young to Wed," said that refugee families make this choice because they do not have adequate economic power and want to protect their girls from violence.
Forty-eight percent of the Syrian refugee girls in Jordan are forced to marry men at least 10 years older they are, said the report, which added that this figure was rising every day.
Child marriages devastate these girls, and those under 18 likely face violence after marrying, said Saba al-Mobaslat, the organization's director in Jordan.
“Since I got married I don’t feel anything. Well, I do feel sad when I see other girls from my neighborhood going to school. Whenever I see a woman who has become a doctor or a lawyer or has finished her education I get upset,” the report quoted a Syrian refugee named Reem as saying.
Jordan hosts about 1,300,000 Syrian refugees in Jordan, 600,000 of whom are registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
Syria has been gripped by civil war since 2011. Between 100,000 and 160,000 people have been killed and close to half of the 22 million population has been displaced, according to the U.N.
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