For many refugee girls the window between mothering dolls to mothering babies is shrinking.
Bidool was 13 years old when she married Hamseh who was more than twice her age.
Her family fled Damascus in Syria for Irbid in Jordan in 2012 as civil war engulfed their country.
Initially Bidool was able to attend school but after three months it became too expensive, meaning that only her younger siblings were allowed to continue their education.
"If we were in Syria, I would not be married - I would still be going to school," she says.
Bidool, now 14 and a mother to newborn son Mohanned, grapples with the difficulties of a baby that won't sleep at night.
"If we were in Syria, I would not be married - I would still be going to school."
Her story is typical of the many that aid group Care encountered while compiling a research report on child marriage in crisis situations.
The Syrian conflict has exacerbated a disturbing trend.
Care's gender specialist Isadora Quay says the motivation to marry-off underage daughters to adult men is often about protecting their "honour" as a virgin.
Girls who are raped faced being shunned within their community.
"Parents are doing this because they think in a misguided way that this is the best way to protect and help their daughters," Ms Quay told AAP.
Poverty is another big factor.
There's one less mouth to feed when a girl moves in with her adult husband, sometimes 10 to 20 years older.
Ms Quay says there can also be huge health complications for pregnant child brides.
"If you're pregnant and really young your pelvis is not fully developed, so you're much more likely to have complications with birth," she said.
Aid groups globally must increase prevention efforts, Ms Quay said.
CHILD MARRIAGES IN NUMBERS
* 142 million child marriages expected in developing countries between now and 2020.
* Globally 16 million girls aged 15-19 give birth a year.
* 70,000 girls aged 15-19 die during pregnancy and child birth a year.
* Armed groups in Syria are using child marriage as a weapon to panic and displace populations.
* Between 2000-2009, before the Syrian conflict, about one in eight women aged 20-25 had been married as a child but rates have now increased dramatically.
* In 2013, the percentage of Syrian child marriages in Jordan rose to 25 per cent, and to just under 32 per cent in the first quarter of 2014.
* Child marriage can often be a gateway into other forms of gender violence.
(Source: CARE report)
Share
