Women refugees no longer subservient to men

In an interesting article today, Al Akhbar newspaper reported that women refugees in Europe had more power (qawamat) over men, pointing to the intervention of specialized associations to resolve disputes between couples. In normal circumstances in the Arab community, problems between a married couple are usually resolved by the relatives, friends or parents. The wife’s opinion in such cases is influenced and mollified for fear of divorce and the social stigma attached to it, while these doctrines are devalued in the European society. According to Al Akhbar, divorce has increased among Arab refugee households in Europe especially that there are incentives inspiring women to be independent, free and self-reliant away from the patriarchal community which gets in the way of their ambitions. On the subject, Al Akhbar spoke to Hanan (woman refugee from the Syrian city of Daraa) who said that her parents forced her to marry her husband when she was still 16. “They did not consult with me, and differences continued between my husband and I for 11 years,” Hanan stated. “I have been divorced many times and every time I went back to the marital home after family mediations,” Hanan added. “Differences continued when we reached Germany, but I finally decided to leave him for good, and this is what happened,” she proudly told the reporter. On the subject, social worker and family care activist, Carolina, disclosed to Al Akhbar that instances of divorce among refugees have increased remarkably, with women filing for divorces outnumbering men. Women, Carolina argued, have become more aware of their right to equality and therefore refuse to be demeaned or ill-treated by men. For more on the subject, please visit the following link: http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/271913. (Al Akhbar, February 1, 2017)