July 29th 2024.
A mother stood before a judge, pleading for mercy as she was handed a three-year prison sentence for her involvement in her daughter's forced marriage to her eventual murderer. Sakina Muhammad Jan, a 48-year-old woman, cried and shouted in the Victorian County Court, expressing her innocence and disbelief at her punishment. She is the first person in Australia to be sentenced for causing someone to enter into a forced marriage, a criminal offense that was established in 2013.
As Jan was being escorted out of the courtroom by guards, one of her supporters collapsed and had to be taken to the hospital by ambulance. This emotional scene only added to the gravity of the situation. Jan had been found guilty of forcing her daughter, 20-year-old Ruqia Haidari, to marry Mohammad Ali Halimi in August 2019. Ms. Haidari's first marriage had ended in divorce, and in the eyes of the Hazara community, she had lost her value. Jan arranged the second marriage in an attempt to restore her family's reputation.
Ms. Haidari had made it clear to her friends, teachers, and driving instructors that she did not want to marry the older man. She wanted to focus on her studies instead. But her mother refused to listen and insisted that she had to obey her. The wedding took place in Shepparton on August 21, 2019, and the couple moved to Perth shortly after. Tragically, Halimi ended up killing his young bride just five months after the wedding. He is now serving a life sentence for murder.
During the sentencing, Judge Fran Dalziel acknowledged that Jan was grieving the loss of her daughter but showed no remorse for her actions. The judge stated that Jan had abused her power as a mother and betrayed the trust and respect her daughter had for her. While Jan may have believed she was acting in her daughter's best interest, she was, in fact, causing her harm. Ms. Haidari had made it clear that she did not want to get married, but Jan ignored her wishes and forced her into the marriage.
Jan tried to shift the blame onto others and claimed that she was not aware of her daughter's desire to back out of the engagement. However, the judge rejected these claims, stating that Ms. Haidari had explicitly told her mother that she did not want to get married. Despite facing cultural expectations from the Hazara community, the judge could not consider this as a mitigating factor. The law is clear – forced marriage is a criminal offense, and it must be made known that it will not be tolerated in our country.
Jan, who fled Afghanistan with her family, also faced the possibility of deportation if she was sentenced to 12 months or more in prison. However, the judge emphasized that the severity of the crime must be reflected in the punishment, regardless of potential deportation. Jan was ultimately sentenced to three years in prison but will be released on a recognisance order after 12 months. Even then, she initially refused to sign the order, as she could not accept being imprisoned for a crime she believed she did not commit.
As Jan's son Taqi Haidari expressed his dismay at his mother's imprisonment, it was a somber reminder of the tragic loss of life and the devastating consequences of forced marriage. It is a practice that must be condemned and eradicated, and the sentencing of Sakina Muhammad Jan serves as a clear message that it will not be tolerated in our country.
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