Ripple impacts of exodus | Rise in pandemic divorce among forcibly displaced people in Afrin
There is no doubt that divorce is the last solution to end the struggle between spouses after their failure to settle and resolve their problems for the interest of the family unit, but this solution is a counterproductive and has a ripple effect at the social and family level in particular.
Recently, divorce rate has been highly increasing across Syria, and in the northern countryside of Aleppo, especially among displaced people from Afrin due to conditions of displacementand extreme poverty.
Women’s rights and anti-women violence activist in the northern countryside of Aleppoin areas controlled by Kurdish forces who is known by her initials as (SH. H.) told SOHR sources thatabout 95 percent of divorces were documented in 2021 among people from Afrin who were forcibly displaced to the northern countryside of Aleppo due to Turkish military operation.
(SH. H.) explained that there were stark variations in divorce rates that have been documented in the past years compared to the past two years. In 2019, the number of divorces was high based on the area of Al-Shohabaa and the number of residents, but in 2020 and 2021 the situation varied according to annual statistics.
She adds that the reasons for divorce are sometimes unconvincing, but cultural influences in different societies and its psychological impact on women and men were key factors leading to family breakdown and weakened women role for reaching social justice.
Mrs. (SH. H.) stresses that more than 30 percent of divorce is caused by physical violence against women, noting that women are subject to beating, physical abusing, termination of babies and in some cases,they commit suicide amidunfair reality and lack of tackling the reasons and deterrence and protection tools.
The psychological factor, which is not taken or tackled seriously in our society, is one of the most prominent reasons leading to divorce, because of its significant role in creating a large family gap. Nearly 50 percent of the social issues are caused by psychological problems.
Economic factors are also main reasons for divorce. The worsening living conditions during the war and the displacement of people have a significant impact on family disintegration. Also, the desire of husbands and wives to emigrate abroad and the consequent psychological problems of the children and the inability of parents to take responsibility for their future are all blamed for high rates of divorce.
In light of absence of awareness and responsibility, these factors are taking the divorces rate to ascending curve and it has become normal to see growing rates of divorces across Syria while children always pay the prices of their parents’ reckless decisions.
We, at SOHR, warn against seriousness of family disintegration in a war-torn society for nearly 11 years, and calls on organisations concerned with women issues to launch awareness-raising campaigns for married couples and those who are about to marry as well.