澳门六合彩

In the heart of Jordan鈥檚 Zaatari Refugee Camp, Souad, a 20-year-old expectant mother, eagerly awaits the arrival of her baby. But amid the anticipation, Souad carries a heavy burden of fear that her child鈥檚 life will be fraught with hardships.聽鈥淩aising a child in the camp is difficult. There鈥檚 limited access to essential resources such as clothing and baby milk formula,鈥� she said.

Souad鈥檚 mixed emotions reflect the struggles of thousands of Syrian mothers in Zaatari Camp, located about 12 kilometers from the Syrian border and home to about 82,000 people. More than half of Zaatari鈥檚 population are children, and 1 in 4 are of reproductive age. According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), an estimated 2,300 women and girls in Zaatari are 辫谤别驳苍补苍迟.听

Limited resources

But raising children in the camp is not easy. In Zaatari and nearby Azraq camp鈥攖he two largest Syrian camps in Jordan鈥攆amilies survive on a monthly stipend of only $32. Malnutrition and food insecurity afflict nearly 90 percent of Syrians in Jordan; the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) 鈥渙nly 2 percent of refugee households can meet their essential food needs.鈥� Despite this, the camp sees an of , and approximately one of 聽ten births to Syrian refugee mothers is to a child.

鈥淩aising children is important,鈥� says 34-year-old Raghda, who has raised five children in Zaatari. 鈥淏ut this was not the life I wanted for them.鈥澛�

Early marriage and early motherhood often go hand in hand, perpetuating a cycle where younger brides have more听肠丑颈濒诲谤别苍.

The struggle for a better life often leads girls to marry young. Nearly 2 in 5 girls in Zaatari are married before their 18th birthday, almost double the global average. Zaatari has witnessed a near 12% in child marriages since 2019; UNFPA has already documented at least 321 underage marriages in the camp this year alone, with some brides as young as 12. Early marriage and early motherhood often go hand in hand, perpetuating a cycle where younger brides have 听肠丑颈濒诲谤别苍.

鈥淭he population of the camp is increasing. Education is very limited. Most girls in Zaatari won鈥檛 finish their education because there are limited opportunities,鈥� says Abeer Shraiteh, an Emergency Field Officer at UNFPA in Jordan. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a challenging life in the camp, so families will look for any opportunities. Many see child marriage as one of the only options for their daughters.鈥澛�

Education for Girls

26-year-old Lamees married at seventeen and has five children鈥攁ll are below age 10 and have never known life outside the camp.聽鈥淚t was a good feeling the first time I discovered I was pregnant,鈥� Lamees says. 鈥淏ut after I delivered my first baby, I started to feel what it means to be responsible for raising her, protecting her from sickness and dust, and living in this atmosphere in the camp.鈥� Because Lamees only holds a seventh-grade education, she finds it especially hard to educate her children. 鈥淚 find it difficult to teach my children because I am uneducated. It鈥檚 a problem.鈥澛�

Access to education remains an uphill battle for refugee girls. Globally, more than 130 million girls between the ages of 6 and 17 are out of school, and refugee girls are 2.5 times likelier to be out of school than boys. But studies show that education has a direct correlation with delaying marriage, pregnancy, and childbirth. Conversely, girls with little or no education are three times more likely to marry by 18 than those with secondary or higher education. In Jordan, nearly 90 percent of Syrian refugees are enrolled in primary school. This to 25-30 percent enrollment in secondary school meaning almost 70 percent of refugee children are not in school after age 13 or 14.聽聽

鈥淚n 2023, we can鈥檛 say that a girl鈥檚 right to education has been fulfilled if she doesn鈥檛 even get the chance to finish secondary school,鈥� says Bill Van Esveld, a children鈥檚 rights researcher at Human Rights Watch. 鈥淏ut enrollment plummets as refugee kids should be moving from primary to secondary, and in Jordan, we found that refugee girls are hit with a variety of harms and obstacles, including child marriage.鈥澛�

Mr. Van Esvel said addressing the root causes, such as poverty and labor exploitation of refugee parents, is critical to ensuring more girls stay in school.聽鈥淛ordan can do more to enforce its laws that make lower secondary education compulsory for all. It should cancel policies that block kids who were out of school for three years from returning. And for real change to take off, it鈥檚 key to improve the quality of education and stop suppressing demand; lift barriers to higher education and to entering certain professions. After a dozen years of atrocities, Syria is still not safe for returnees, and education is the sine qua non for refugee girls to realize their rights.鈥�

Some organizations in the camp, like UNFPA, have successfully implemented family planning strategies, providing short-term and long-term care for postpartum mothers. To date, there have been zero maternal deaths in Zaatari.聽But Ms. Shraiteh warned the current trends of increasing child marriages and birth rates in the camp should raise alarm bells. 鈥淚f a girl gets married young and has children young, it means she will never think about her dreams or future,鈥� she says.

The long-term consequences [of early marriage] are felt by entire communities as generations of girls are denied the opportunity to reach their full potential.

Substantial research and data consistently show that the toll of early marriage and motherhood extends far beyond individual girls and their families. The long-term consequences are felt by entire communities as generations of girls are denied the opportunity to reach their full potential. When a girl feels a lack of agency and limited prospects for her future, it can contribute to a sense of hopelessness and the perception that early motherhood is the only viable path.聽

Addressing Root Causes

Addressing early marriage and motherhood in Zaatari requires a multi-faceted approach. Access to education is essential; it equips girls with the knowledge and skills needed to make informed choices about their livelihoods and futures. Comprehensive sexual and reproductive health education in school curricula would provide girls with the information they need to make informed decisions about their health and bodies.

Improving the socioeconomic conditions of refugee families is also crucial. This requires providing parents with economic opportunities and livelihood support to ensure they can support their families without resorting to marrying off their daughters. NGOs and humanitarian organizations working in Zaatari must collaborate with local communities to challenge sociocultural norms and practices that limit girls' opportunities for education and personal development. Community dialogues and engagement with religious and community leaders can be key in shifting attitudes and creating an environment where girls' rights are respected and protected.聽

Ultimately, investing in the education and health of young refugee women and girls is not only a matter of individual rights but also about building stronger communities in which everyone benefits, creating ripple effects for generations to come.聽

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not express the official position of 澳门六合彩.