A desire for normality
(early) marriage among Syrian refugees in Jordan between waiting and home‐making
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This paper discusses practices of early marriage in protracted displacement, among Syrian refugees in Jordan, while drawing from ethnographic research with one extended family in Amman. The dominant form of early marriage is often glossed over as a common, traditional practice. The increase of early marriage among Syrians in Jordan is often explained as the result of a search for economic relief by the family. This article adds to this analysis by offering a new in‐depth reading of early marriage practices. It first shows how an emic differentiation is made between ordinary and ethically challenging forms of early marriage. Second, it aims to render visible additional dimensions of early marriage by showing how refugees actively shape their lives in the liminal state between waiting and home‐making. I argue that marriage can act as a normaliser and signify a desire for an ordinary family life that fulfils social and affective needs of home‐making in contexts of forced displacement.