Yasmine: “When I was younger I was dreaming about being a fashion designer but..."
Yasmine is a Syrian refugee living in Jordan. She has been in the country for two years. School is a distant memory and motherhood an imminent reality. While her story relates specifically to the conflict in Syria, a new study on early marriage in Jordan, launched today, shows that the practice of early marriage in Jordan shows no sign of abating, UNICEF’s Regional Office for the Middle East and North Africa reported.
Of all registered marriages in Jordan for 2013, 13% involved a girl less than 18 years of age – a figure that has remained relatively consistent for the past decade. This means more than 9,600 young girls married early and there has been little or no progress in reducing the number of cases.
Among Syrian refugees living in the country, the rate of child marriages has risen from 18% of total marriages in 2012 to 25% in 2013. Newly released figures now show that this rate has further increased to 32% in the first quarter of 2014. The pre-war figure inside Syria included an average of 13% of marriages as involving an under 18-year old.
According to Yasmine’s mother, marrying young is not uncommon for Syrian girls but the increase is a result of many children dropping out of school earlier due to the crisis and once a teenage girl is at home they will receive marriage proposals.
UNICEF Jordan Representative, Robert Jenkins, highlights how child marriage can have immediate and life-long implications, “Girls that marry before 18 years of age are at increased risk of complications during pregnancy and of being victims of abuse. They also have more limited economic opportunities due to loss of schooling and can get trapped in a vicious cycle of poverty.”
The report highlights the common factors for child marriage in Jordan as; alleviating poverty or the burden of a large family with many daughters; providing protection for young girls; continuing traditions (cultural or family); and serving as an escape for girls living in an abusive home environment.