“Preventive measures should be taken”

Syrian refugee women face many problems such as poverty, sexual harassment, and male violence in places they take shelter. In the last months ago, Amara Dawladlı (13) and Selva El Hinedi (25) were killed in Urfa for not accepting to be the second wife. Sociologist Ruken Ergüneş drew attention to the problems faced by refugee women and said that preventive measures should be taken to protect women and girls from being second wives and early marriage.

MEDİNE MAMEDOĞLU

Rıha – Turkey has become the country that hosts the highest number of refugees in the world since the Syrian civil war broke out on March 15, 2011. Border cities such as Mardin, Urfa, and Antep are the most affected cities by these refugee waves. Refugee women living in Turkey have faced many problems. Most refugee women in Turkey are driven into polygamous marriages.

They were killed for not accepting to be the second wife

Under the Turkish Civil Code, polygamy is not allowed and is considered a crime; polygamy is considered adultery.  In Turkey, where nearly four million Syrian refugees live, Urfa ranks fourth among cities where the most refugees live in. Most of refugees live in the Suruç, Akçakale, Ceylanpınar, Eyyübiye and Haliliye districts of Urfa province. The number of polygamous marriages has been increasing in Urfa in recent years because refugee women in Urfa are driven into polygamous marriages. In 2021, Amara Dawladlı (13) and Selva El Hinedi (25) were killed in Urfa for not accepting to be the second wife.

We saw many refugee women, mostly Arab women, living in Urfa collecting waste papers and selling napkins with their children in order to survive. According to reports released by NGOs, refugee women don’t trust the system in Turkey and that’s why they don’t report the problems they face. One another reason why refugee women don’t report their problems is the lack of interpreters. According to the information we received from some associations working on the refugee issue, many women have come from the other side of the border to Urfa to get married for money, especially for two years.

The capacity of the only women’s shelter in the city is 20

Refugee women living in the city have only two options: selling napkins or getting married. There is only one women’s shelter in the city with a population of 2.5 million. The capacity of the shelter is only 20 so women have to leave the shelter after a while.

“Men see every situation as an opportunity”

A woman named H.Z., who lives in the Eyyübiye district, told us that her daughter’s husband is married to another woman. Stating that due to the increasing population rate, men are married to Syrian women as second wives when they have a problem with their first wives, H.Z. said, “My daughter has been married for eight years. Her husband got married to another woman several months ago in a secret way. We don’t know who this woman is. My daughter has been left alone with her children. She is a housewife and if she asks for a divorce from him, she will not make ends meet. If she doesn’t ask for a divorce, she will have to live with this reality. In Suruç, when men have a problem with their wives, they get married to other women. Refugee women, even girls, are driven into polygamous marriages. They cannot do anything. Women always suffer from men.

We spoke to a Syrian woman living in Suruç. She told us most Syrian women have to accept being second wives due to financial difficulties they face. “The refugee women, whose husbands were killed, accept to become second wives because they are poor because they have no other alternative. Men use the financial situation of refugee women and marry them. Women and girls are forced into polygamous marriages.”

Intermediaries pave the way for polygamous marriages

Most Syrian women tell us that intermediaries pave the way for polygamous marriages to make money. The polygamous marriage of Syrian woman S.H. was arranged by an intermediary (fixer). She told us that her family received 20,000 Turkish liras and they will receive extra 20,000 Turkish liras if the man ends the marriage. “I got married after the intermediary talked to my family. Other women in my family got married as second wives. If my husband leaves me, he will pay my family. Some women choose to be the second wives for their children.

Ruken Ergüneş: Polygamous marriages are common especially in cities close to Syrian borders

Sociologist Ruken Ergüneş told us that women, who fled from the war to save their lives, are driven into Polygamous marriages and that Polygamous marriages are common especially in cities close to Syrian borders. “The increasing rate of polygamous marriages affects the whole society,” she said, “We are also aware of how bad the living conditions of refugee women particularly living in Urfa and the other cities. Unfortunately, women and children are the biggest victims of wars. Turkey should take preventive measures against polygamous marriages imposed on refugee women.”