“I managed to convince two of my friends who were going to get married young to wait,” said Raneem Abras, 16, a Syrian refugee living in Chouf, Lebanon. © UNFPA Lebanon/Sima Diab

Raneem is a peer educator, raising awareness of the harms of child marriage. Some 23 per cent of Syrian refugee women in Lebanon were married before reaching age 18. © UNFPA Lebanon/Sima Diab

Raneem's parents are very supportive. “I would not even allow my sons to get married young,” said her father, Abo Adbo. © UNFPA Lebanon/Sima Diab

Her mother, Um Abdo, was engaged at age 12. “When I broke off my engagement at age 16, people considered me divorced!” she said. “I swore I would not do that to my daughter.” © UNFPA Lebanon/Sima Diab

“I will only accept that Raneem gets married when I am sure that she is mature enough for such a responsibility,” she said. “But for now, I still see her as a child.” © UNFPA Lebanon/Sima Diab