Bekaa Valley, LEBANON. 2015
Syrian refugee camp.
In recent months, Lebanon has begun to buckle under the weight of Syrian refugees, who constitute nearly 1 in 4 people living in the country today.
Bekaa Valley, LEBANON. 2015
Nour, 13 years old.
She got married nine months ago. She left Syria four years ago with her family. She did not know her husband (27 years old) before marriage. Her parents said: if it weren’t for the war we would never have allowed our daughter to get married so young, but now we can not keep her because of economic problems.
Bekaa Valley, LEBANON. 2015
Amal (14 years old) and Ahmad (28 years old).
She left Syria (Ghouta) three years ago with her family.
The family wants to marry her and she agrees with this decision. Her future husband is Ahmad and he is 28 years old.
Bekaa Valley, LEBANON. 2015
Syrian refugee camp in an abandoned mall.
According to World Health Organization a girl under 15 is five times more likely to die in childbirth than a grown woman.
Bekaa Valley, LEBANON. 2015
Rukayya (14 years old) keeps the plush in her arms, this Teddy is her engagement gift.
She will marry next month, at the moment she lives with her mother in a small room, while her father is probably in prison in Syria. Her mother said that she would never have wanted that one of her daughters get married so young, but the crisis has changed everything.
Bekaa Valley, LEBANON. 2015
Marwa (15 years old), her husband (23 years old) and their son Malek.
Marwa is a victim of an ongoing trend toward child marriage among Syrian refugees. Her story is the story of many young girls in Lebanon. She got married 3 years ago, she was only 12 years old, because her father couldn’t stand the cost of a big family. Now she is pregnant and she has a son.
Bekaa Valley, LEBANON. 2015
Girls and children working in the fields.
Many girls work in the fields because their family has serious economic problems, they work in the fields for 6,000 Lebanese pounds a day.
Bekaa Valley, LEBANON. 2015
Ghufran (15 years old) and Mariam (16 years old).
Mariam just got married. She left Syria (Hama) three years ago.
Ghufran got married about 1 years ago and she is expecting. She left Syria (Hama) three years ago.
UNICEF defines child marriage as a formal or informal union before the age of 18, and considers it a form of gender- based violence.
Bekaa Valley, LEBANON. 2015
Research studies from around the world suggest that child marriage, rather than protecting girls, often has far-reaching negative consequences. It often denies a girl her right to an education and leaves her far less able to take advantage of economic opportunities.
Bekaa Valley, LEBANON. 2015
Nour (13 years old) and her husband (27 years old).
She got married nine months ago. She did not know her husband before her marriage.
She got married because of the pressure of her family. For a woman it is not socially acceptable to live without a man.
Bekaa Valley, LEBANON. 2015
Amina (14 years old) hold her son in her arms.
She got married about two years ago and she has two sons.
She didn’t want to marry but her family has forced Amina to marry for the bad family economic situation.
Bekaa Valley, LEBANON. 2015
Three young brides.
Waad (13 years old), Ayat (16 years old), Khalidiya (15 years old).
Waad got married about 1 year ago. Her father forced her to marry. She did not know her husband before the marriage, and now she wants to divorce.
Ayat got married about 2 months ago and now she is pregnant.
Khalidiya got married about 1 year ago
Bekaa Valley, LEBANON. 2015
A wedding dress at souk (traditional market).
Many girls prefer to rent their wedding dress so they can save money. Some of them tell of selling the ring after the wedding.
Bekaa Valley, LEBANON. 2015
Mariam (15 years old) and her husband Sabri (17 years old)
They got married two months ago. Sabri is her cousin and her family decided that she had to get married because she had too many sisters and her family couldn’t longer maintain Miriam.
Bekaa Valley, LEBANON. 2015
Houda (14 years old).
She left Syria (Raqqa) four years ago and she got married about 1 years ago.
She lives in the Bekaa Valley with her family while her husband works and lives in Beirut. Her husband stays with her only on the weekend.
Bekaa Valley, LEBANON. 2015
Syrian refugee camp. Bekaa.
According to the report of Save the Children there are a number of reasons why families are opting for child marriage for their daughters.There are economic reason and at the same time, they are all too aware of the need to protect their daughters from the threat of sexual violence. Given these pressures, some families consider child marriage to be the best way to protect their female children and ease pressures on the family resources.
Bekaa Valley, LEBANON. 2015
Ayat (16 years old) while she’s doing housework.
Ayat got married about 2 months ago and now she is pregnant. She hasn’t had any news about her family in Syria and her family’s home was destroyed, now she lives in a tent with her husband.
Bekaa Valley, LEBANON. 2015
Marwa (15 years old) and her son.
They got married 3 years ago and one year later they left Syria (Ghouta).
“I worry about the future. My husband has barely any work, and I need medication for my anaemia, and money for food,” she said and glances at her son that now he plays on tricycle.
Bekaa Valley, LEBANON. 2015
Amal (14 years old) with her father. The father was choosing the wedding date.
She left Syria (Ghouta) three years ago with her family. The family wants to marry her and she agrees with this decision.
Her future husband is Ahmad and he is 28 years old.
Bekaa Valley, LEBANON. 2015
Basma with her son.
Her husband doesn’t want her to tell me her story. After she speaking with her husband she wanted to correct her age, she said she is 13 years old and then she said that she is 15 years old. The age of consent in Syria is 16, and in Lebanon varies between religious authorities, but not before 15 years of age.
She was 11 when her parents arranged for her to get married.
Bekaa Valley, LEBANON. 2015
Houda (14 years old) and Nour ( 13 years old). They show their wedding photos.
Houda and Noor are sisters and both are already married.
Nour got married about nine months ago and Houda got married about 1 years ago. Nour had a miscarriage and she is only 13 years of age.
Bekaa Valley, LEBANON. 2015
Syrian refugees camp.
For many Syrian families the early marriage is seen as a way of protecting young daughters from various forms of sexual violence in both Lebanon and Syria, and of relieving the financial burden.
