The dominant gender narratives among NGOs responding to the Syrian refugee crisis are based on simplistic notions of the ‘traditional’ Syrian household and power dynamics. NGOs typically focus on deviations from ‘traditional’ gender roles once refugees are displaced, without taking into account how a woman’s class or the type of urban or rural environment in which she lived may have determined her status or access to education or work. Additionally, there is a tendency to analyze gender solely through the lens of the husband-wife relationship, which fails to consider the role of sons (who exert more power and influence as they mature), or power struggles between younger and older women (e.g. mother-in-laws).