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LONDON: Casual ads for “affordable Syrian brides” have circulated on Iraqi social media platforms in recent months, many of them perpetuating tropes about Syrian women with lines such as: “Marry a Syrian woman for $100 and enjoy- of delicious food and a nice dialect. “

The controversial posts, which have attracted local media attention, are captioned as if they were advertisements for goods. One says: “You can hear to'borni (a Syrian term of endearment) at home for just 500,000 dinars” – the equivalent of $380.

Men promoting the trend bemoan the exorbitant mahrs demanded by Iraqi women, often ranging from $10,000 to $20,000, locals told Arab News. In addition, they say, Iraqi brides-to-be will often ask for property, expensive jewelry and cars.

Mahr is an obligatory gift from a groom to his bride in Muslim societies as a form of security and respect, often with legal significance in marriage contracts.

The sheer volume of posts online, particularly on video platform TikTok, suggests the trend is genuine. Commenters expressed outrage at the posts, finding the rhetoric demeaning to both Syrian and Iraqi women.

More than a decade of violence, displacement, economic hardship and uncertainty have already damaged the dignity of Syrian women. Now, in neighboring countries, where they sought safety and economic security, they suffer a form of commercialization.

Many Syrian women, finding themselves the sole breadwinners for their families, have sought employment in neighboring states, including Iraq, as the economic situation worsens in their home country.

Faced with the harsh reality of being a single woman in a conservative society and in countries where the law offers limited protection, some have agreed to marry locals for meager, if any, mahrs.

Sattam Jadaan Al-Dandah, Syria's ambassador to Iraq, revealed in January that some 5,000 marriages between Syrian women and Iraqi men were documented in 2023 alone.

According to the UN Development Programme's 2024 Gender Inequality Index, Iraq is the fifth worst country in the world for women and girls, despite many recent efforts to address gender inequality.

“Syrian women in countries like Iraq, where the law does not provide adequate protection, are often exposed to harassment, exploitation and even trafficking,” Mouna Khaity, a UK-based Syrian feminist and researcher, told Arab News.

“The main reasons why Syrian women agree to such arrangements – many even seek them – in almost all neighboring host countries are the need for protection and the desire to escape a deteriorating economic situation.”

Thirteen years of conflict and economic sanctions have pushed 90% of Syria's population below the poverty line, creating a new social norm where families struggle to survive without women's work.

“Under relatively normal circumstances, women and girls' communities and families would provide a level of protection, even if sometimes this involves unwanted intervention or even control,” Khaity said.

The erosion of this protection due to displacement has made Syrian women and girls more vulnerable.

About 5.4 million Syrians live in five countries in the region – Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt – more than 70 percent of whom are women, according to UN figures.

“Women who need protection will accept a lower mahr compared to women who live under the protection of their families in their home countries,” Khaity said.

However, a woman's decision to marry for economic reasons “is often not a personal choice, but a collective family decision, with women – even girls – convinced that this is an opportunity for a better life.

“This is often seen in displacement camps, where women do not even have the option to choose, and marrying a local can be perceived as a convenient way to transform from a charity recipient to a woman of dignity and protected.”

The Norwegian Refugee Council reported in 2016 an alarming increase in the number of child marriages within Syrian refugee communities, with girls as young as 13 being married off.

A 2023 report by American Near East Refugee Aid, an NGO that addresses the needs of refugees and vulnerable communities in Palestine, Lebanon, and Jordan, found that 41 percent of Syrian refugee women aged 20 to 24 in Lebanon were married before turning 18.

Stressing that the situation was created by “layers of discrimination and injustices”, Khaity said the blame for such marriages should not be placed solely on individuals or families, but on “whole systems” that have normalized the exploitation of Syrian women through deprivation. of responsibility.

“Neighboring countries have not sought to integrate Syrian refugees, who are excluded from local communities and exploited by politicians for economic gain,” she said.

Deep-rooted gendered economic inequalities have long disadvantaged women, and the war has only widened this gap, despite an increase in the proportion of women earning an income.

“Historically, Middle Eastern societies have accumulated wealth in the hands of men, forcing women to be largely dependent on men,” Khaity said, adding that this was achieved through “political systems, social norms and religious institutions.” .

“Submission to husbands was often linked to men's financial superiority and dominance, and consequently women's dependence on them. There are financial resources that women cannot access.”

She added: “The war has deepened inequities, impoverished the majority of the population, increased the vulnerability of women and displaced millions – all of which have devastated Syrian society.

“Therefore, many Syrian women have sought marriages with locals from host countries as a means of protecting themselves, and often their families, from all kinds of injustice – especially in societies that have shown hostility to them.”

Since the outbreak of civil war in 2011, which forced millions to flee abroad, Syrians in Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan have repeatedly faced waves of violence and threats of deportation.

Douna Haj Ahmed, a UK-based Syrian human rights activist, believes this new status quo has “created a form of modern slavery where Syrian women are trafficked and trafficked under the guise of marriage”.

She told Arab News that arranged marriages promoted on Iraqi social media “reduce women to mere objects for sale,” calling the phenomenon “a stark reminder of how conflict and poverty can lead to the re-emergence of slavery-like systems of exploitation.”

She added: “Such exploitation is not only unethical but deeply inhumane. Marriage should be based on mutual respect and genuine affection, not on exploiting the needs of the weaker party.”

Thirteen years of conflict and displacement have put Syrian women in a “class of their own,” Khaity said. “There is tolerance for the dehumanization of Syrian women, who are now perceived as having fewer rights.”

Both activists also believe that Syrian women have been commercialized by misleading TV dramas. Iraqi TikTok posts promoting marriage to Syrian women even feature clips from controversial Syrian programs that feature Damascene women as part of an obedient and attentive harem.

Khaity says the drama genre known in Syria as “Al-Bi'a Al-Shamiyeh” – or Damascene culture – propagated an “untrue, historically inaccurate and unfair image of Syrian women and their role in society”.

Since the 1990s, numerous Syrian dramas have portrayed Damascene women as ravishing beauties with an innate talent for cooking, household management, and seduction. They rush to attend to their husbands' needs, rub their feet, shower them with affection, and even feed them by hand.

The popularity of Syrian drama series in the Arabic-speaking world has played a significant role in creating and reinforcing such harmful stereotypes.

“For decades, Syrian drama has perpetuated the image of the Syrian woman as an obedient servant to her husband, whose life revolves around meeting his needs through cooking and cleaning during the day, and pampering and pleasure at night,” said Haj Ahmed.

“This negative portrayal reinforced outdated and misleading ideas about women's roles in Syrian society.”

Haj Ahmed said that amid harsh economic circumstances, “many young people in Arab countries saw the war in Syria as an opportunity to fulfill their unhealthy desires for marriage.

“They have exploited the vulnerability of Syrian girls caused by war and poverty, forcing some Syrian families to make harsh compromises and accept any suitor for their daughters in a desperate attempt to ease the family's financial burden.”

She added that the social media trend of promoting Syrian brides for $100 “goes beyond discrimination and hate speech” to “reflect the patriarchal mindset that objectifies women, especially in times of war and disaster.”

“This narrative confirms that women are among the first to suffer in such situations. What Syrian women are facing is a recurring scenario for women in all conflict zones.”