‘I didn’t want to get married. I was too young.’

Ghadeer* was just 13 years old when her father arranged for her to marry her cousin. ‘Many times I saw how men were looking at my daughter, and I was afraid she would get abused. Once a man followed her home to our tent. Thankfully, I was home,’ he says. ‘I knew her cousin wanted to marry her, so I forced her because I was afraid to lose her.’

It’s a decision he now deeply regrets. Ghadeer’s now-husband and mother-in-law beat her, and she is often covered in bruises. ‘I feel very guilty. My wife is angry with me. I swear that I wanted to protect her. I did not know this would happen,’ he says. ‘Sometimes, I think of killing myself as I am the one responsible for this marriage.’

As if to agree, his wife chimes in, ‘He would not listen. I begged but he would not listen. She was too young.’

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Ghadeer, now 15 years old, visits her parents and younger siblings once a week in their informal tented settlement in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley. She says it’s the only time she feels happy.

‘I didn’t want to get married. I was too young. I miss my family, friends and school. I asked my husband if I could go back to school, but he said no,’ says Ghadeer. ‘I wanted to be a lawyer. If I got the chance now, I’d specialise in making sure other girls do not have to experience what I have.’

Ghadeer fears becoming pregnant, saying she is not ready psychologically or physically. ‘I have to look after my husband’s large family. I work very hard, and I’m tired. I just want to go back to Syria and rest.’

Ghadeer’s mother says prior to her marriage she was a warm and happy child who loved to eat candy-floss. Now she is sombre and withdrawn.

To ensure that other parents don’t push their daughters into similar circumstances, Ghadeer’s mother now serves on World Vision’s Child Protection Committee, raising awareness in refugee settlements about the negative impact of early marriage.

*Name has been changed to protect her identity.