A woman in her late 40s has become the first person jailed under Australia’s forced marriage laws for putting “intolerable pressure” on her daughter to wed a man who later murdered her. Sakina Muhammad Jan was found guilty of coercing her daughter, Ruqia Haidari, into marrying 26-year-old Mohammad Ali Halimi in 2019 in exchange for a small payment.
Six weeks after the marriage, Halimi murdered Haidari and is currently serving a life sentence. On Monday, Jan, who pleaded not guilty, was sentenced to at least one year in prison for the pressure she exerted on her daughter to marry Halimi. Australia’s forced marriage laws, introduced in 2013, carry a maximum penalty of seven years imprisonment, and Jan is the first person sentenced under this offense.
An Afghan Hazara refugee who fled Taliban persecution and moved to regional Victoria with her five children in 2013, Jan’s lawyers stated she endures ongoing “grief” over her daughter’s death while maintaining her innocence. The trial revealed that Haidari had been coerced into an unofficial religious marriage at 15, lasting two years. She had expressed a desire to wait until she was 27 or 28 before marrying again, wanting to pursue her studies and career.
Judge Fran Dalziel noted that while Jan may have believed she was acting in her daughter’s best interests, she repeatedly ignored Haidari’s wishes and “abused” her power as a mother. Dalziel emphasized that Haidari would have known that refusing the marriage would raise questions about the family’s standing in the community, adding that Haidari was concerned about her mother’s anger and their reputation.
Jan was sentenced to three years in prison but may be released after 12 months to complete the remainder of her sentence in the community. After the sentencing, Jan remained in the court dock, telling her lawyer she would not accept the judge’s ruling before being escorted away.
