Syrian refugee brides advertised on Facebook

Several Arab media outlets have reported on alleged Syrian refugee women being put up for marriage on Facebook as reports on the social media page spread.

According to the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat, the initial page, created under the name “Syrian refugees for marriage,” displayed pictures of purported potential brides. It garnered more than 18, 000 likes in less than a week (as of May 16), before it was shut down.

“Across the Arab world, of all ages and religions – share this page!” the page said, as quoted by a Lebanese news portal.

Millions of displaced Syrians have sought refuge in neighboring countries, mainly in Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and Iraq due to the ongoing civil war.

Meanwhile, numerous reports have been released about Syrian women being exploited into marriage.

The page was shut down and another one was created under the same name, but with a modified theme.

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The creators of the new page changed the cover photo to a Quranic verse, and added a religious tone to their posts to defend what they claimed were marriages permissible by Islam.

Many social media users expressed their anger at the page’s aim.

“We are indeed living in a sick world,” said Twitter user Anjum Anwar.

“Now on Facebook: Syrian refugee brides for sale. Even if page gets taken down, this is what is happening,” said another user.

Although the new Facebook page is available, it cannot be independently verified that the makers of the page are actively involved in marriage consultations for Syrian refugee women.