Sakina Muhammad Jan: Jailed for Forcing Daughter into Fatal Marriage

[Social Media]

 

Sakina Muhammad Jan, a mother who coerced her daughter into a forced marriage with a man who later murdered her, has caused an uproar in court by refusing to sign a document that would have allowed her early release from prison. Jan, aged 47 or 48, was sentenced to three years in prison by Judge Fran Dalziel at the County Court of Victoria on Monday. The recognisance release order, which she declined to sign, would have permitted her to serve two years of her sentence within the community under specific conditions. Through a translator, Jan expressed her defiance, stating, "I’ve done nothing wrong I cannot accept … I cannot be locked in.”

 

The court proceedings mark a significant legal milestone as Jan becomes the first individual sentenced under Australia's forced marriage laws, introduced in 2013. These laws, which carry a maximum penalty of seven years imprisonment, aim to combat coercion in marital arrangements. Jan's sentencing follows a lengthy trial in which a jury found her guilty of forcing her 21-year-old daughter, Ruqia Haidari, into marriage with Mohammad Ali Halimi in late 2019. Tragically, Halimi later murdered Haidari in a fit of rage.

 

The courtroom was filled with more than a dozen family members and members of the Hazara community, many of whom were in tears as the sentence was handed down. Jan, an Afghan Hazara refugee who fled Taliban persecution and migrated to regional Victoria in 2013 with her five children, maintained her innocence throughout the trial. Her lawyers argued that she suffers from enduring grief over her daughter's death.

 

The court heard that Haidari had previously been forced into marriage at the age of 15, a union that ended in divorce. She had expressed a desire to delay any further marriage until she was 27 or 28, wanting to focus on her studies and career instead. Judge Dalziel, in her sentencing remarks, emphasized that while Jan may have believed she was acting in her daughter's best interests, she had persistently ignored Haidari’s wishes and abused her power as a mother. Dalziel highlighted that Haidari would have been acutely aware of the familial and community repercussions of rejecting the marriage, including her mother's anger and the family's standing in the community.

 

Jan’s refusal to accept the judge’s ruling and her subsequent removal from the court underscore the ongoing complexities and emotional turmoil surrounding forced marriage cases. During Halimi's sentencing for Haidari's murder in 2021, the court in Western Australia heard accounts of his violent and abusive behavior towards his wife, including his insistence on her performing household chores.

 

Attorney General Mark Dreyfus, in a statement on Monday, underscored the prevalence of forced marriage in Australia, describing it as “the most reported slavery-like offence.” Federal police were alerted to 90 cases of forced marriage in the 2022-23 period alone, highlighting the urgent need for continued vigilance and legal action against such practices. The case of Sakina Muhammad Jan and her daughter Ruqia Haidari serves as a stark reminder of the devastating consequences of forced marriage and the importance of upholding individual rights and freedoms.

 

Credit: BBC | News.Com  2024-07-30

 

 

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[klauskunkel]

3 hours ago, Social Media said:

The case of Sakina Muhammad Jan and her daughter Ruqia Haidari serves as a stark reminder of the devastating consequences of forced marriage and the importance of upholding individual rights and freedoms.

It also highlights the willingness of refugees to integrate with and adopt the values of their new country.

[petermik]

51 minutes ago, klauskunkel said:

It also highlights the willingness of refugees to integrate with and adopt the values of their new country.

Nah they want the benefits but are not prepared to accept the laws of their adopted country...