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Mickey Langley
AP English III
12 December 2016

Syrian Refugee Women: Inadequate Education, Inadequate Circumstances

The violence in Syria has caused many people to flee their homes and seek shelter in
bordering countries. Regardless of what class they came from, everyone now only has what they
are able to wear or carry. Struggling to start anew proves troublesome for all. In the Middle East,
Syrian Refugee Women and their families opportunities for a more propitious future are severely
limited due to lack of access to education, which fuels a cycle of poverty, no escape from
unemployment, and loss in confidence.
Trying to find a job as woman in the Middle East is already extremely difficult due to the
stiff, and strongly enforced gender roles. Attempting to do so uneducated becomes nearly
impossible. With knowledge comes power, and with an education a girls confidence can
increase exponentially.
Insufficient education stokes a destructive cycle of poverty. For parents without
education, the job choices are few and far between, and those that do exist do not provide enough
to fulfill the needs of their family. The Lebanon magazine Executive, ran an article titled Time is
running out for Syrian Refugee kids out of school that reported about the issues kids face that
keep them from attending school. The article stated 70% lived below the poverty line of $3.84
per person per day in 2015. Forcing parents to make unfortunate decision of requiring their kids
to obtain jobs, leaving them to grow up without schooling, causing the disastrous cycle to
continue. Girls have even fewer options because they are unable to do most physical labor, which
leaves them either sold into human trafficking, or married off early. Child marriages do not

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provide a girl with the chance of a furthering her education. Child marriages also contribute to
the second most common cause of death for girls between the ages of 15-19 [which] is
complications from pregnancy and childbirth., according to an article titled Why Girls?
posted by a UN Foundation Organization called Girl Up. Being married off early eliminates the
need for education. Her job is now to give birth and raise kids, who all must live off one income
from the father. Educating people, girls especially, can help to end this vicious repetition of
impoverishment because for every year of schooling a girl has, she will earn 10-20% more pay.
With that pay, women in the developing countries are likely to put as much as 80-90% of their
profit back into the community. (Challenges Girls Face) Providing girls with education
opportunities not only breaks the cycle in their own family, but allows them to help others break
out as well. An old African proverb that says if you educate a girl, you educate an entire
nation. (The Education Roadmap to 2030)
A girl who attended school has infinitely more options than one who did not. With
schooling, women can work at shops, sell goods they make themselves, repair things, teach or
help others to adjust, and more. As Archbishop Bashar Warda said, while he discussed the
benefits of educating Syrias youth in "Can Education slow the Exodus of Syrian and Iraqi
Christians?", ...university gives them an alternative it think about, It gives them a choice.
Many of the refugee girls in Lebanon and elsewhere grow up completely unaware that they even
have options; they are taught the womans place is in the home and nowhere else. How can
society expect women to break free from the gender stereotypes forced upon them if they dont
even know they can? Knowledge is power. Syrian refugee women already have a new found
freedom and confidence because of the move outside their home country making this the perfect
time to provide them with information about education opportunities. Family and social

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pressures disappear, desperate times call for desperate measures, and due to lack of available jobs
for illegal males, women, for the first time, must get a job to help sustain their family. (Chick)
As seen in the news recently, the Taliban fear educated girls more than drone strikes.
This is not a new concept: since time began men have disliked the idea of women taking up
similar roles as them. Up through the early 1900s men in the United States feared women
furthering their education past basic reading and writing. As stated in an article discussing the
history of womens rights, published by the American Social Reform Movements Reference
Library, after WWII upon returning home the men found a new standard: women had taken their
jobs and became equally as qualified; and many men disliked the change. The men wanted the
women to know their place is in the home, sewing and cooking, not out in the world, exploring
and discovering. When girls learn all the possibilities, they discover they have options, realizing
their options empower them. For example, educated women tend to seek healthcare for
themselves and their families more than those who arent. (Education). Thus women with an
education highly more confident in themselves. This newfound courage and ability to contribute
financially to the family, allows them to finally have involvement in the family decisions.
(Chick) Working women also take more leadership roles in their communities, which helps to
instill self assurance in their children and in turn fueling a positive cycle of confidence, along
with a better understanding of gender equality. This public form of confidence can also transfer
to their personal lives. For some refugees, removed from social pressure in Syria and able to
attend classes provided by aid groups, gained the courage to leave and divorce abusive
husbands--something that was previously completely unheard of (Chick).
Educating women stands as one of the most important tasks we have as a society to allow
strengthening of the economy and improvement for the future of the next generation.A current

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effort fighting for this opportunity is sponsored by Girl Up, an association sponsored by the
United Nations Foundation. Their effort is titled #WithRefugees. Its purpose is to raise
awareness and funds to help Refugees, specifically girls, because the educating our girls will
educate our world. Instilling knowledge in the minds of the girls gives them the opportunity to
acknowledge their options and have the confidence needed to pursue them. Reaching these
women in their new and uncertain environment is the best opportunity. Outside the social and
patriarchal restraints that normally hold them back, there is chance to teach them and help them,
and show them a different, happier future.

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Works Cited
"Challenges Girls Face." Girl Up. Girl Up Inc, UN, n.d. Web.
Chick, Kristen. "For some Syrian women, refugee life proves unexpectedly liberating."
Washington Post, 5 Nov. 2016. Global Issues in Context. Accessed 29 Nov. 2016.
"Can Education slow the Exodus of Syrian and Iraqi Christians?" America, 23 May 2016, p. 9+.
General OneFile,
"The Education roadmap to 2030." Philippines Daily Inquirer [Makati City, Philippines], 31 Aug.
2016. Global Issues in Context,. Accessed 28 Nov. 2016.
Gambino, Lauren. "Trump and Syrian Refugees in the US: Separating the Facts from Fiction."
The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 02 Sept. 2016. Web. 09 Dec. 2016.
Kristof, Nicholas. "Anne Frank Today Is a Syrian Girl." The New York Times. The New York
Times, 25 Aug. 2016. Web. 09 Dec. 2016.
Peterson, Celia. "Syrian Refugee Women Take on Life in a Man's World." Al Jazeera English.
Aljazeera, 7 Mar. 2016. Web. 09 Dec. 2016.
"Raise Your Voice for Girls' Education - Girl Up." Girl Up. Girl Up Inc, UN, 22 Aug. 2016. Web.
09 Dec. 2016.
Silberg, Jon. "The Light in Her Eyes: documenting a Syrian story of education and inspiration."
Digital Video Magazine, Aug. 2012, p. 32+. General OneFile, Accessed 28 Nov. 2016.
"Time is running out for Syrian refugee kids out of school." Executive [Middle East], 18 Aug.
2016. General OneFile,. Accessed 28 Nov. 2016.

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"The Women's Rights Movement." American Social Reform Movements Reference Library,
edited by Carol Brennan, et al., vol. 2: Almanac, UXL, 2007, pp. 373-405. U.S. History
in Context,