The article addresses the following questions: What challenges are Syrian widowed and divorced women encountering? How do they rearrange their lives and parenting when the husband is not with them anymore? How do they cope with everyday challenges? To respond to these questions, the article relies on empirical research, including interviews with 20 divorced and widowed Syrian women in Jordan’s Amman, Irbid and Al Ramtha. The collected material was analysed by using thematic and interpretative social science methods. The study draws from the disciplines of social work and psychology. This study investigates the social, economic and emotional challenges Syrian refugee widows and divorcees faced while raising their children alone outside of camps in Jordan and presents the coping mechanisms of the widows to overcome these difficulties. The findings contribute to further exploring women’s empowerment and agency as well as the severe challenges encountered by them as a result of forced displacement and the loss of their husbands.
Authors: Ayat Jebril Nashwan, Associate Professor (Yarmouk University) and Lina Alzouabi, PhD Candidate (Karabük University)
This project is supported by the Middle East and North Africa Social Policy Network (MENASP) at the University of Birmingham, in the framework of its ‘strengthening social welfare and security in the MENA region’ research programme, funded by the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council’s Global Challenges Research Fund.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the Middle East and North Africa Social Policy (MENASP) Network or the University of Birmingham.