This Blog is written by Aalaa Halaka
Dr. Sawsan Al Majali is a member of the Jordanian Senate and Chair of the Neighbour and development Committee. She also co-chairs the Health and Environment committee, and is a member of both the National Center for Human Rights and the National Center for Family Affairs. At the ERF conference on The Impacts of the Syrian Refugees Influx on the Jordanian Economy she participated as a moderator on Family formation, Marriage and Fertility Among Jordanians and Refugees, which was based on analysis of the the Jordan Labor Market Panel Survey (JLMPS) 2016 data.
The session focused on the effect of the Syrian crisis on both Jordanian and Syrian fertility and families. Dr. Majali notes that Jordanian fertility has decreased as opposed to Syrian fertility -already starting off as low- that has risen following the crisis. She explains that this could be attributed to the characteristics and backgrounds of those who found refuge in Jordan and can be a result of the urge to “replace” those who have been lost or injured at war as well as the family need to marry off daughters early for their protection and the protection of their honour, causing fertility rates to increase.
Dr. Majali finally discusses the comparison made between the rates of early marriage among Jordanians and Syrian, explaining that the latter has been rapidly increasing for those under 18 years of age, affecting the national averages in Jordan.
The Policy Conference on Employment, Education and Housing in Jordan: The Impacts Of The Syrian Refugee Influx is held in Amman, Jordan, on 13 May 2018. This event aims to examine the impact of the Syrian refugee influx on various aspects of life for Jordanians, including their labor market outcomes, their access to education services and housing, and their demographic behavior in terms of marriage and fertility. Visit the conference website to find out more about the events and access policy briefs, working papers, videos and blogs.
