Women and girls continue to be the worst affected by Syria's conflict, but their suffering rarely makes the headlines. Among the men who have died in the conflict, many will be honoured as martyrs. Those who have survived suffering at the hands of the regime will return to their homes as heroes. But women, including victims of sexual assault and refugees, will remain permanently stigmatised in conservative societies that simply do not see their suffering as equal.
In a column in July, I wrote that Syria's war, like every conflict, would have profound and long-lasting effects for women and girls, even for those who have escaped the battlefield. It is very clear that this is already happening. In recent weeks, Arabic media have reported that women in refugee camps, mostly minors, are being sexually exploited under the pretext of marriage.
It is common to see on Arabic online forums requests by men "seeking marriage from Syrian girls". At a price ranging from 500 to 1,000 Saudi riyals (Dh490 to Dh980), girls are reportedly being taken from refugee camps in Jordan. Saudi Arabia is most often named as the destination, but a similar trend is reported in other countries including Iraq and Turkey.
The Saudi columnist Mohammed Al Osaimi, who first highlighted the online posts, wrote that parents feel compelled to marry their daughters off to strangers because they see that as a better option than staying in a refugee camp.
The trend was also triggered by clerics such as Sheikh Adnan Arour, a hardline Syrian cleric, who has issued fatwas to encourage men to marry victims of sexual assault and "cover their shame" through marriage. But the fatwas ironically have led to further sexual exploitation.
In these classified ads, men post brief requests on different websites, often leaving only their first names and email addresses. "I am looking for a Syrian wife," a man identifying himself as Asa'ad wrote on a website. "I am a man of means and I fear God. My Syrian sisters are decent and honourable."
Many other comments are far more demeaning. A man, who identified himself only as "Jordanian", sardonically wrote "no woman deserves sympathy these days", in reference to dishonesty. Another man who called himself Abdulsamad wrote a longer post explaining that his desire to marry a Syrian woman had preceded the conflict, apparently to present a better case.
Another man wrote: "This is not a question of exploitation. It is a question of supply and demand." He suggested a reduction in dowries to 100 dinars [Dh520] because of the increasing number of refugees.
Maher Abu Tair, a Jordanian columnist, wrote: "All we hear these days is talk about a Syrian wife who can be bought with 100 dinars. One could go to any of the areas of Al Mafraq, Amman, Ramtha, Irbid or Karak to pick for himself a Levantine houriya." (A Levantine houriya, or virgin, is a reference to women from the Levant known in Arab cultures for their beauty). He added that people are encouraged by the speedy, cheap and conditions-free marriages.
Abdelbari Atwan, the editor-in-chief of the pan-Arab newspaper Al Quds Al Arabi, wrote that old men from different Arab countries have married girls from refugee camps who are below the age of 15. "Marriage of minors in refugee camps is a type of rape that must be stopped immediately," he wrote. "Perpetrators must be brought to justice."
Why doesn't the Syrian opposition raise the issue to regional governments? Why doesn't it have a team dedicated to the welfare of refugees? According to a western diplomat who works on Syrian issues, the opposition receives sufficient relief resources, but the funds are misspent. A credible Syrian opposition would raise the issue with authorities and international organisations.
While it is difficult to prevent families from marrying their daughters off, especially given the absence of laws banning child marriage, improving refugees' quality of life could help to stamp out abuses.
Exploitive marriages in conflict are not new to the region. It has been common for clerics to call on worshippers to protect Muslim women by marrying them, including Bosnians, Chechens and Iraqis, and now Syrian women. But these calls consistently lead to further exploitation and, subsequently, further stigmatisation.
The comments on various websites - in the thousands - underscore the plight of women in the Arab world in general, and misogynist attitudes persist despite the supposedly enlightened popular revolts across the region. Arab women are fighting injustice on many fronts, from sexual harassment to child marriage to blackmail. Their suffering is perpetuated by institutional, religious and social attitudes that view women as subordinate to men.
In conflict-torn areas, their plight takes on another dimension. Regardless of the circumstances of their suffering, women somehow are held responsible for being exploited. The traditional view of a woman as a person who needs protection is applied only when she does not actually need protection; when women really need help, too many men forget their traditional role as protectors, blaming women for failing to protect themselves.
As it progresses, this war is turning men into monsters, not only because they are killing each other, but because so many are turning a blind eye to exploitation.
hhassan@thenational.ae
On Twitter: @hhassan140
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The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct from the UAE to Los Angeles, from Dh4,975 return, including taxes. The flight time is 16 hours. Alaska Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Aeromexico and Southwest all fly direct from Los Angeles to San Jose del Cabo from Dh1,243 return, including taxes. The flight time is two-and-a-half hours.
The trip
Lindblad Expeditions National Geographic’s eight-day Whales Wilderness itinerary costs from US$6,190 (Dh22,736) per person, twin share, including meals, accommodation and excursions, with departures in March and April 2018.
Punchy appearance
Roars of support buoyed Mr Johnson in an extremely confident and combative appearance
6.30pm Meydan Classic Trial US$100,000 (Turf) 1,400m
Winner Bella Fever, Dane O’Neill (jockey), Mike de Kock (trainer).
7.05pm Handicap $135,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner Woven, Harry Bentley, David Simcock.
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Winner Fore Left, William Buick, Doug O’Neill.
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Winner Rusumaat, Dane O’Neill, Musabah Al Muhairi.
8.50pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round-2 Group Two $450,000 (D) 1,900m
Winner Benbatl, Christophe Soumillon, Saeed bin Suroor.
9.25pm Handicap $135,000 (T) 1,800m
Winner Art Du Val, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.
10pm Handicap $135,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner Beyond Reason, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”