Six months after Maha's husband was killed in Syria's bloody civil war, the mother-of-two took a decision that has become increasingly common -- she became a second wife.
"After my husband died, I was alone with my children and it was very difficult," the 31-year-old told AFP by phone from an area near Damascus that has seen heavy combat between government and rebel forces.
"My cousin suggested we get married, and now I live with his wife and children. It was a difficult decision because his wife was a friend of mine," she said.
With thousands of Syrian men dying on the front lines of the conflict that began in March 2011, and others forced into exile or simply disappearing, the rates of divorce and polygamy in Syria are on the rise.
According to official figures, polygamous relationships accounted for 30 percent of marriages registered in Damascus in 2015, up from just five percent in 2010.
"We have more women than men here. Four friends and I decided to take widowed women as second wives to protect their reputations," explained Mohammed, Maha's new husband.
More than 290,000 people have been killed in Syria and millions have fled their homes to neighbouring countries.
For those who have stayed, fighting has torn apart families and put an enormous strain on couples struggling to survive amid poverty, unemployment and violence.
'More women than men'
In Syria, the personal status law for Muslims, which is applied for issues such as marriage, divorce and inheritance, is derived from religious law.
Other religious groups, like the Christians and Druze, are regulated by their own religious tribunals.
Polygamy pre-dates Islam in the Middle East but was incorporated into the religion. Sunni Muslim men are permitted to take four wives on the condition that they treat them equally.
Nowadays, the practice is fairly uncommon in much of the Muslim world, with many countries placing restrictions on multiple marriages.
In Syria, these include limits on the age difference between spouses and guarantees that the husband can pay for separate homes for each wife.
But the imbalances created by war have prompted religious authorities to be more lax.
"Many men are dead, missing or have gone abroad," said judge Mahmud al-Maarawi, who heads the religious court that oversees personal status issues for Syria's Sunni Muslims.
"So there are more women than men, and the solution from a legal and religious point of view is polygamy," he told AFP.
"The tribunals bypass the restrictions put in place by law to allow a man to take a second wife... It has solved many problems."
For many women, the decision to wed an already married man is born of economic hardship.
"Women who in ordinary circumstances would have refused are now agreeing to marry a man who is already married who can provide for them and give them a sense of protection," said psychologist Leila al-Sherif.
Marrying a tenant
Abu Adnan's second wife was a tenant at his large house in the Old City in Damascus.
"She couldn't pay her rent, so I decided to marry her. It was better than putting her on the street," the 46-year-old said.
"My first wife accepted because we haven't been able to have children. She hopes I'll be able to have a son."
A mother of five, Sabah al-Halabi's "first husband abandoned me and my children after losing his job" early on during the conflict.
To provide for her two unmarried children, Sabah found a husband 24 years her senior who already has one wife.
"I married Mamduh, who is 68, because I wanted a better life for my children," she said, as she waited to register her marriage in Damascus.
The war has also led to an increasing number of divorces, with authorities recording 7,000 cases in 2015, a 25 percent increase from 5,318 in 2010.
"Many couples are forced to live with their families for economic reasons," creating pressure on marriages, said Maarawi.
"There are also disputes between couples when one wants to emigrate and the other is afraid of the journey or being far from their family," he added.
In some cases, husbands have demanded divorces after meeting women overseas, or wives have divorced husbands who have left them behind.
Syrian law allows a wife to divorce if she can prove her husband has been absent for at least a year, but 43-year-old Fawziyeh waited three years before beginning proceedings against her husband.
He left for Sweden as a refugee, where he was meant to complete the paperwork for the family to reunite.
But after waiting three years, living with their three children at her parents' home, she'd had enough.
"I divorced him. The wait was difficult and now I'm free to marry whoever I want."
AFP
Mon Sep 12 2016
Syrians queue up in the office of Judge Mahmoud Al-Maarawi (R), who heads the religious court that oversees personal status issues for Syria's Sunni Muslims, to get official documents related to their marital affairs. AFP PHOTO / LOUAI BESHARA
Anwar tiba di Tokyo untuk lawatan kerja tiga hari
Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim tiba di Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Haneda, Tokyo pada Rabu sekitar jam 8:54 malam waktu tempatan dengan pesawat khas dari Kuala Lumpur.
Olimpik Paris 2024: Mohd Azizulhasni terpaksa 'korban' demi pingat emas pertama
Perancangan yang diatur jaguh berbasikal trek negara Mohd Azizulhasni pada Sukan Olimpik Paris 2024, kemungkinan menuntut 'harga mahal' demi merealisasikan impian pingat emas pertama Malaysia.
Piala Dunia ISTAF: Doubles Malaysia tewaskan Thailand, rampas gelaran juara
Hari bersejarah buat sukan sepak takraw negara apabila berjaya menjuarai kejohanan Piala Dunia ISTAF buat kali pertama dalam acara doubles.
Jualan runcit dalam talian China naik 11.5 peratus empat bulan pertama
Jualan runcit dalam talian di China bagi empat bulan pertama tahun ini naik 11.5 peratus tahun ke tahun, dengan mencatat RMB4.41 trilion (RM2.85 trilion).
AWANI 7:45 [22/05/2024] - Tuntutan palsu RM600,000 | Selesai prosedur keempat | 16 rakyat Malaysia dalam pesawat SIA | Prosiding secara tertutup
#AWANI745 malam ini bersama Essan Yahya;
1. Anak dan bekas Setiausaha Politik MB Perlis didakwa esok
2. Faisal Halim dijangka beraksi tiga hingga enam bulan lagi
3. Sembilan rakyat Malaysia cedera, insiden gelora udara ekstrem pesawat SIA
4. Tun M dakwa tidak terima notis mesyuarat RCI Batu Puteh
1. Anak dan bekas Setiausaha Politik MB Perlis didakwa esok
2. Faisal Halim dijangka beraksi tiga hingga enam bulan lagi
3. Sembilan rakyat Malaysia cedera, insiden gelora udara ekstrem pesawat SIA
4. Tun M dakwa tidak terima notis mesyuarat RCI Batu Puteh
Lawatan kedua Anwar ke Jepun simbolik hubungan mapan dua hala 68 tahun
Lawatan kedua Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim ke Jepun dalam tempoh enam bulan jelas mencerminkan hubungan rapat selama 68 tahun antara Malaysia dan Jepun.
AWANI Ringkas: Kes tuntutan palsu
Ikuti rangkuman berita utama yang menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari di Astro AWANI menerusi AWANI Ringkas.
Ahmad Zahid mulakan lawatan rasmi ke China
Timbalan Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi tiba di Hong Kong pada Rabu untuk memulakan lawatan rasmi ke China.
Hubungan komprehensif 68 tahun Malaysia-Jepun
Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim akan memberikan ucaptama pada sesi pertama dan hari pertama, Persidangan Nikkei 2024 pada Khamis.
Lawatan kerje pada kali ini merupakan lawatan kedua dalam tempoh enam bulan sejak beliau memegang jawatan Perdana Menteri pada November 2022
#AWANI745
Lawatan kerje pada kali ini merupakan lawatan kedua dalam tempoh enam bulan sejak beliau memegang jawatan Perdana Menteri pada November 2022
#AWANI745
Tayar lori tercabut, lelaki dalam kereta tersepit
Seorang lelaki tersepit dalam kereta dipandunya yang remuk akibat terkena tayar sebuah lori yang tercabut di Jalan Tuanku Abdul Halim berhampiran Istana Negara di sini, kelmarin.