Seeking refuge through marriage: Marriage experiences of Syrian women refugees in Turkey

The war that began in Syria in 2011 has displaced millions of people. The majority of those who migrated abroad migrated to neighboring countries, especially Turkey. As of 2023, the population of Syrian citizens immigrating to Turkey is more than 3.5 million. With this mass and forced migration of Syrian citizens, which spread from Syria to many countries of the world, societies that migrated and received immigrants were affected in many ways. Socio-economic interaction and coexistence create cultural partnerships and harmony as well as conflicts between communities. Basic needs such as clinging to life in the country they have settled in, overcoming legal obstacles and financial impossibilities, and ensuring the continuity of life lead immigrants to develop different strategies. One of the most well-known and frequently applied survival strategies by immigrants from different parts of the world is marriage. The difficulties created by the war and forced migration conditions and the strategies to resist the difficulties vary according to the economic characteristics of the social structure and gender relations. With the forced migration from Syria, marriages between Turkish-citizen men and Syrian-citizen women began to increase and become more visible. Since these marriages mostly come to the forefront through the "Syrian Bride", it is striking that the subjective experiences of Syrian citizen women regarding migration and marriage should be visible. This study analyzes the marriages of women who migrated from Syria to Turkey due to the war in Turkey from a gender perspective. In this context, the conditions of forced migration, gender inequality, exclusion and stigmatization of women and immigrants, citizenship and permanence, struggles, and strategies are explored. Within the scope of the study, it is aimed to produce scientific knowledge about the forced migration and marriage experiences of Syrian women through the experiences of migrating women. For this reason, in-depth interviews were conducted with 42 Syrian women who had an official or informal marriage with a Turkish citizen in seven different provinces (Istanbul, Izmir, Bursa, Gaziantep, Sanliurfa, Mardin, and Kilis). In addition to female participants, interviews were conducted with civil society workers, field workers, and 3 Turkish citizens who have Syrian spouses.