Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Child Marriage: A Survival Strategy for Syrian Refugee Families in Turkey?

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Women, Migration and Asylum in Turkey

Part of the book series: Migration, Diasporas and Citizenship ((MDC))

Abstract

Child marriage is a growing problem for girls in Syrian refugee families in Turkey. Although many Syrian women do not want their daughters to marry in early ages, they say poverty and migration conditions can force them. Building on a field survey, this chapter explores how the child marriages of Syrian girls can act as a survival strategy for Syrian families and a means to build a patriarchal domination over girls’ body and sexuality.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 109.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 139.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 139.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    Turkey has been party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) since 1990 which defines a child as being a person below the age of 18. Child Protection Law of Turkey adopts the definition of CRC in Article 5395. While the Law does not refer to marriages, international obligations have priority over domestic law as a constitutional requirement. It is therefore a constitutional crime to allow marriage before the age of 18, or to establish a legal basis for it and to condone it (AMGE 2018).

  2. 2.

    https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdg5 (accessed 22/04/2019).

  3. 3.

    I would like to thank and acknowledge the support of KADAV in this research.

  4. 4.

    KADAV’s (Women Solidarity Foundation) project works to prevent child labour through empowering Syrian refugee women and facilitating their entry into the labour market. The project selection criteria were residence in Küçükçekmece; willingness to learn a profession; being between the ages of 18 and 45. Selected women participate in the employment and gender-based workshops and training in machine sewing. Child care was provided.

  5. 5.

    This chapter uses the CRC definition of a child as a person under 18. This can be considered disempowering to young women capable of making their own choices from younger ages. For clarity, however, the terminology of “child marriage” rather than “early marriage” has been used to refer to this research.

  6. 6.

    Numbers in parentheses indicate the age of the woman quoted.

References

  • Abu Shama, M. (2013). Early Marriage and Harassment of Syrian Refugee Women and Girls in Jordan. Retrieved April 22, 2019, from https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2013/09/early-marriage-and-harassment-of-syrian-refugee-women-and-girls-in-jordan/

  • Alsaba, K., & Kapilashrami, A. (2016). Understanding Women’s Experience of Violence and the Political Economy of Gender in Conflict: The Case of Syria. Reproductive Health Matters, 24(47), 5–17.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • AMGE (Association for Monitoring Gender Equality). (2018). İnsan/Kadın TicaretiTematik Alanı Haritalama Raporu (Yayımlanmamış).

    Google Scholar 

  • Barin, H. (2015). Türkiye’deki Suriyeli Kadınların Toplumsal Bağlamda Yaşadıkları Sorunlar ve Çözüm Önerileri [Problems of Syrian Women in Turkey Faced in Social Context and Proposed Solutions]. Göç Araştırmaları Dergisi, 1(2), 10–56.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bartels, S. A., Michael, S., Roupetz, S., et al. (2018). Making Sense of Child, Early and Forced Marriage Among Syrian Refugee Girls: A Mixed Methods Study in Lebanon. BMJ Global Health, 2018(3), e000509. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2017-000509

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Buskens, L. (2003). Recent Debates on Family Law Reform in Morocco: Islamic Law as Politics in an Emerging Public Sphere. Islamic Law and Society, 10(1), 70–131.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chowdhury, F. D. (2004). The Socio-Cultural Context of Child Marriage in a Bangladeshi Village. International Journal of Social Welfare, 13, 244–253.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • ÇOÇA [Istanbul Bilgi University Child Studies Unit]. (2015). Retrieved April 22, 2019, from http://www.cocukcalismalari.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Suriyeli-Cocuklar-Egitim-Sistemi-Politika-Notu.pdf

  • Culbertson, S., & Constant, L. (2015). Education of Syrian Refugee Children: Managing the Crisis in Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan. RAND Corporation.

    Google Scholar 

  • DGMM, Directorate General of the Migration Management. (2019). Migration Statistics, March 2019.

    Google Scholar 

  • Economic and Political Weekly Editorials. (2013). Will Child Marriages Ever End? Child Marriage Are Meant to ‘Protect’ Girls, They Ruin Their Lives Instead. Economic and Political Weekly, 48(44), 9.

    Google Scholar 

  • Erol, E., Akyol, A., Salman, C., Pınar, E., Gümüşcan, İ. Mısırlı, K., …, Mutlu, P. (2017). Suriyeli Sığınmacıların Türkiye’de Emek Piyasasına Dahil Olma Süreçleri ve Etkileri: İstanbul Tekstil Sektörü Örneği [Labour Market Participation Processes and Effects of Syrian Refugees in Turkey: Example of Istanbul Textile Sector]. Birleşik Metal İş.

    Google Scholar 

  • Erulkar, A. (2013). Adolescence Lost: The Realities of Child Marriage. Journal of Adolescent Health, 52, 513–514.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • FIGO Committee. (2015). ‘Ethical Considerations on the Health Consequences of Child or Adolescent Marriage’, FIGO Committee for the Ethical Aspects of Human Reproduction and Women’s Health. International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics, 128, 83–84.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Girls Not Brides. (2018). Child Marriage. Retrieved April 22, 2019, from Turkey https://www.girlsnotbrides.org/child-marriage/turkey/

  • Gökçearslan Çifçi, E., & Kurnaz, D. (2019). Syrian Youth in Turkey: Gender and Problems Outside the Refugee Camps. In G. T. Bonifacio (Ed.), Global Perspectives of Gendered Youth Migration: Subjectivities and Modalities (pp. 143–162). Bristol: Bristol University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Human Rights Watch. (2016). Education for Syrian Refugee Children: What Donors and Host Countries Should Do. September 2016.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hutchinson, A., Waterhouse, P., March-McDonald, J., Neal, S., & Ingham, R. (2016). Understanding Early Marriage and Transactional Sex in the Context of Armed Conflict: Protection at a Price. International Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 42(1), 45–49.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ibrahim, I., Hussain, F., & Aziz, N. A. (2012). The Child Bride: Rights Under the Civil and Shariah Law. Procedia—Social and Behavioral Sciences, 38, 51–58.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • ILO. (2016). Workshop on Problems Faced by Syrian Workers, Employers and Entrepreneurs in Labor Market and Suggestions for Solution, Ankara, Turkey. Retrieved April 22, 2019, from https://www.ilo.org/ankara/publications/WCMS_533056/lang%2D%2Den/index.htm

  • Jensen, R., & Thornton, R. (2003). Early Female Marriage in the Developing World. Gender and Development, 11(2), 9–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kivilcim, Z. (2016). Legal Violence Against Syrian Female Refugees in Turkey. Feminist Legal Studies, 24(2), 193–214.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Knox, S. E. M. (2017). How They See It: Young Women’s Views on Early Marriage in a Post-conflict Setting. Reproductive Health Matters, 25(Suppl. 1), 96–106. https://doi.org/10.1080/09688080.2017.1383738.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maktabi, R. (2010). Gender, Family Law and Citizenship in Syria. Citizenship Studies, 14(5), 557–572.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maswikwa, B., Richter, L., Kaufman, J., & Nandi, A. (2015). Minimum Marriage Age Laws and the Prevalence of Child Marriage and Adolescent Birth: Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa. International Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 41(2), 58–68.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mourtada, R., Schlecht, J., & DeJong, J. (2017). A Qualitative Study Exploring Child Marriage Practices Among Syrian Conflict-Affected Populations in Lebanon. Conflict and Health, 11(27), 53–65.

    Google Scholar 

  • OHCHR. (n.d.). Child, Early and Forced Marriage, Including in Humanitarian Settings. Retrieved April 22, 2019, from https://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Women/WRGS/Pages/ChildMarriage.aspx

  • Raj, A. (2010). When the Mother Is a Child: The Impact of Child Marriage on the Health and Human Rights of Girls. Archives of Disease in Childhood, 95, 931–935.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Raj, A., Saggurti, N., Balaiah, D., & Silverman, J. G. (2009). Prevalence of Child Marriage and Its Effect on Fertility and Fertility-Control Outcomes of Young Women in India: A Cross-Sectional, Observational Study. Lancet, 373, 1883–1889.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rembe, S., Chabaya, O., Wadesango, N., & Muhuro, P. (2011). Child and Forced Marriage as Violation of Women’s Rights, and Responses by Member States in Southern African Development Community. Agenda: Empowering Women for Gender Equity, 25(1), 65–74.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Santhya, K. G., & Jejeebhoy, S. J. (2003). Sexual and Reproductive Health Needs of Married Adolescent Girls. Economic and Political Weekly, 38(41), 4370–4377.

    Google Scholar 

  • Santhya, K. G., Ram, U., Acharya, R., Jejeebhoy, S. J., Ram, F., & Singh, A. (2010). Associations Between Early Marriage and Young Women’s Marital and Reproductive Health Outcomes: Evidence from India. International Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 36(3), 132–139.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Singh, K., & Kapur, D. (2001). Law, Violence, and the Girl Child. Health and Human Rights, 5(2), 8–29.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sparre, L. S. (2008). Educated Women in Syria: Servants of the State, or Nurturers of the Family? Critique: Critical Middle Eastern Studies, 17(1), 3–20.

    Google Scholar 

  • Theirworld. (2017). September 2017. Retrieved February 3, 2018, from http://theirworld.org/news/turkey-plan-will-get-all-syrian-refugee-children-in-school

  • UN Human Rights. (2014). Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in the Context of Transitional Justice.

    Google Scholar 

  • UNDP. (2005). The Arab Development Report: Towards the Rise of Women in the Arab World. UNDP Regional Bureau of the Arab States.

    Google Scholar 

  • UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees). (2016). The Vulnerability Assessment for Syrian Refugees in Lebanon. Report by UNICEF, UNHCR and the United Nations World Food Program (WFP).

    Google Scholar 

  • UNHCR. (2017). Gender Equality Promising Practices: Syrian Refugees in the Middle East and North Africa.

    Google Scholar 

  • UNICEF. (2011). Syria—MENA Gender Equality Profile: Status of Girls and Women in the Middle East and North Africa.

    Google Scholar 

  • UNICEF. (2014). A Study on Early Marriage in Jordan-2014.

    Google Scholar 

  • UNICEF. (2017a). Report: A Promise of Tomorrow—The Effects of UNHCR and UNICEF Cash Assistance on Syrian Refugees in Jordan.

    Google Scholar 

  • UNICEF. (2017b). Annual Report on Child Marriage. Turkey. Retrieved April 22, 2019, from https://data.unicef.org/topic/child-protection/child-marriage/

  • Ventura, L. (2018). ‘Thank God We Are in Syria!’ Modernization, Interfaith Relations and Women’s Rights in Syria Before the ‘Arab Spring’ (2000–2010). Islam and Christian–Muslim Relations, 29(3), 349–369.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wodon, Q., Tavares, P., Fiala, O., & Le Nestour, A. (2017). Ending Child Marriage: Child Marriage Laws and Their Limitations. Save the Children.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yaman, M. (2018). Suriyeli Kadın Mültecilerin Emek ve İstihdam Koşulları [Labour and Employment Conditions of Syrian Refugee Women]. Toplum ve Hekim, 2018, 306–314.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Izmir, Turkey

    Melda Yaman

Authors
  1. Melda Yaman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK

    Lucy Williams

  2. Düzce University, Düzce, Turkey

    Emel Coşkun

  3. Marmara University, İstanbul, Turkey

    Selmin Kaşka

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Yaman, M. (2020). Child Marriage: A Survival Strategy for Syrian Refugee Families in Turkey?. In: Williams, L., Coşkun, E., Kaşka, S. (eds) Women, Migration and Asylum in Turkey. Migration, Diasporas and Citizenship. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-28887-7_10

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-28887-7_10

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-28886-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-28887-7

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation