Pandemic Will Force Thousands Of Refugee Girls To Become Brides Instead Of Students

Millions of young female refugees have been forced to leave school in Jordan, Lebanon and elsewhere in the region due to coronavirus closures.

Now, many aid officials, researchers and advocates worry that when schools reopen for in-person instruction, many of these girls will not return. The pandemic is making the poor poorer, which in turn is creating a spike in child marriages, as families marry off their daughters to get a bride payment and rid themselves of a mouth to feed. 

Once girls marry and leave school, they rarely come back.

“I don’t know that I’ve met any Syrian refugee girls who have married and managed to continue their education,” said Bill Van Esveld, associate director of the children’s rights division of Human Rights Watch, who oversaw the recent report “I Want to Continue to Study: Barriers to Secondary Education for Syrian Refugee Children in Jordan……….…………………………………………………………………..