In a landmark case in Victoria, Australia, a woman has been convicted of forcing her teenage daughter to marry a man who ultimately killed her. The case, reported by The Guardian, sheds light on the brutal realities of forced marriage and its classification as a form of modern slavery.
First-ever conviction
“It’s a deterrent message. The community needs to know you can’t do this. You can’t operate in this manner in Australia. It’s not how we do things.” – Darren Renton, prosecutor
Sakina Muhammad Jan, 48, was found guilty of coercing her 20-year-old daughter to marry an older Perth man in 2019, who murdered her in January 2020. Her sentence will be announced on July 29, 2024. The husband in question was sentenced to life imprisonment in Western Australia for the murder, with a minimum of 19 years before eligibility for parole.
Jan, who pled not guilty, was born into a Hazara family in Afghanistan and entered an arranged marriage at the age of 12, having her first child a year later. The court heard that Jan’s daughter, Haidari, had expressed to her mother and others that she did not want to marry Halimi, accusing Jan of exchanging her for a dowry. This was Haidari’s second forced marriage – the first had ended in divorce.
Motivated by a desire to restore her reputation in the community after the divorce, Jan’s actions were seen as perpetuating the cycle of forced marriages she experienced.
“There seemed to be a fundamental misunderstanding [by the mother] that what was being proposed was wrong.” – Darren Renton, prosecutor
Why we are fighting against forced marriage
Jan could possibly face 7 years imprisonment – but this will not bring Haidari back. This tragic case highlights the severe impact of forced marriages, which strip individuals of their autonomy and subject them to physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. It should not have been allowed to go this far.
Forced marriage is a practice that will not end until it’s illegal everywhere. It’s up to governments to legislate against it.
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