Early marriage and displacement�a conversation: how Syrian daughters, mothers and mothers-in-law in Jordan understand marital decision-making

Abstract

Conflict and forced migration threaten to reverse the decline of early marriage in the Middle East. In some Syrian refugee communities, protracted displacement and precarious livelihoods, together with pre-war traditions of early marriage, push families to arrange matches for their adolescent daughters, and sometimes sons. Drawing on thirteen ethnographic interviews with young Syrian women, mothers, mothers-in-law and grandmothers in Jordan, we develop a multi-perspective approach to the study of early marriage. A feminist outlook has informed our fieldwork and the way its results are presented: around a conversation with Syrian women of different ages and from different generational groups. While humanitarian reports often use women�s voices in a tokenistic way, we stay attentive to the complex nature of their stories and ambitions, contrasting them with insights from interviews with Jordanian academics, aid workers and policymakers. Our study adds nuance to existing humanitarian narratives by drawing attention to the interplay of multigenerational household dynamics, legal and economic constraints in host countries, but also younger and older women�s aspirations, that shape marital decision-making within displaced families.

In the Skies Over Sofia: Place(s) in Displacement for Syrian Women in Bulgaria

“…In Jordan, for example, Syrians marry men from their own community with the hope that they might one day return together to their villages of origin. 48 In contrast, Syrians in Egypt decide to marry local men once they give up on return to their home country, with marriage becoming a settlement strategy. 49 For Syrian women, marriage as a migratory project is far from new: between the 1870s and 1920s, thousands of female Syrians and Lebanese (then citizens of the Ottoman Empire) moved to the Americas to reunite with their fiancés, and also as single women and widows.…”

Decision-Making, Violence, Resistance, and Love: Contested and Complicating Narratives of Syrian Marriages

“…Resistance to love may take various forms, as couples defy expectations by family members, are deemed too young, or face strained family relationships. In some cases, resistance may provide opportunities for those usually lacking the power to exercise power, however, women also find other opportunities to exercise agency in ways that challenge common assumptions about patriarchy and Islam in this region as well as men's expectations of them (Gallagher, 2012;Mahmood, 2001;Rabo, 2008;Rugh, 1997;Zuntz et al, 2021), for example, through seeking to work. Along similar lines, men may challenge notions that love is not to be spoken about by expressing feelings for a wife (Khuri, 2007).…”

“…Such marriages are often described as forced upon girls, especially by fathers (Al Akash & Chalmiers, 2021; Higher Population Council—Jordan, 2017; Save the Children, 2014; UNICEF, 2014)—a narrative which links to humanitarian representations of refugee men as “primitive” and requiring reform (Olivius, 2016, p. 56). Scholars assert that linking early marriage to patriarchy can negate the role of other factors in sustaining the practice and perpetuate racialized assumptions (Zuntz et al, 2021, p. 183).…”

“…Syrian women are said to experience violence, which is attributed to societal disruptions caused by displacement (International Rescue Committee, 2014, p. 5; UN Women, 2013, p. 10; World Vision International, 2020). Some academic scholars have critiqued these representations, drawing attention to the problems associated with positioning women and girls as perpetually vulnerable and requiring empowerment or rescue from humanitarian aid (Hyndman, 2004; Van Raemdonck & De Regt, 2020; Zbeidy, 2020; Zuntz et al, 2021). Humanitarian analyses have been critiqued for reinforcing common generalizations while positioning refugees as “other” (Al-Ali, 2016, p. 3; Turner, 2017, p. 45).…”