Suicide & Underage Marriage in Syria Suicide & Underage Marriage in Syria

Child marriage was prevalent in Syria even before the war, but it has remarkably increased over the last few years recently reaching to a high of 41% in 2021. 16 year olds, 15, and even younger girls are being forced into early marriage due to an interplay of many forces such as: poverty, unemployment, lack of education, and the families’ fear for their daughters’ safety outside of the house. It has been documented that the parents often view child marriage as “a way to protect their family’s honor – and their daughters honor – from possible sexual assault and other kinds of hardship.” Not knowing that by doing this they are willingly handing their underage girls into the hands of danger and abuse. When girls try to escape their abusive fate and turn to divorce, parents refuse the idea because of the severe stigma attached to divorced women in Syria. Sadly, upon realization that they are stuck, pregnant, or having to deal with responsibilities they are too young for, psychological issues like depression, isolation, violence, and suicide arise. The number of young girls who have committed suicide after being married signals that it is a path fraught with peril. Almost 25 young girls have turned to suicide in Idlib, and what their families do is that they suppress the cause of death due to the stigma of taking one’s own life in Syrian society, and the lack of proper funeral facilities for those who have done so. This is why we need to raise awareness about this issue to allow for precautionary solutions that would eliminate child marriage by doing the minimum and educating families on its dangers.