A mother has become the first person to be jailed under Australia’s forced marriage laws, for ordering her daughter to wed a man who would later murder the 21-year-old.
Sakina Muhammad Jan, who is in her late 40s, was found guilty of coercing Ruqia Haidari to marry 26-year-old Mohammad Ali Halimi in 2019, in exchange for a small payment.
Six weeks after the nuptials, Halimi killed his new bride - a crime for which he is now serving a life sentence.
On Monday, Jan - who pleaded not guilty - was sentenced to at least a year in jail, for what a judge called the “intolerable pressure” she had placed on her daughter.
Intimate partner abuse is a terrible tragedy.
I don’t understand this law though. Don’t billions of people practice arranged marriage? Isn’t this just enforcing western culture norms on communities arbitrarily?
Personally, I’d like to know if there is a higher rate of spousal abuse in arranged marriages when controlling for other factors. Has this been studied in Australia?
Edit:
ANSWER: It is not arbitrary. It is addressing a real problem of abuse and trafficking. Studies have been done in partnership with the communities potentially impacted.
Here is one research report from the Australian Institute of Criminology: “The cases of forced marriage examined for this study revealed consistent themes… Marital life was strict, severe and traumatic. Domestic violence, in all its forms, was commonplace—physical, sexual and emotional abuse (actual and threatened), imposed social isolation and financial manipulation—and perpetrated not just by the husband but also by the husband’s male and female relatives.”
However, it is hardly cut-and-dry. Here is another study from FECCA, which represents the interests of ethnic minority communities: “Ultimately, the current data suggests that the prevalence of forced marriage is either low or unknown in Australia… Criminalisation may drive the practice further underground, and there is no data to suggest that criminalisation has reduced the number of instances or referrals of forced marriage.”
Ah yes, enforcing norms like ‘human rights’ and ‘consent’ on other cultures. So chauvinist! /s
Look, I understand your point. That’s exactly why I would like to know is this is supported by actual research or if it’s just an “ick, brown people do things differently.” Let’s face it, BBC has an abysmal history of jingoism, and Australia has a powerful Right Wing. Who sponsored this legislation?
“Brown people”? There are plenty of brown people around the world who don’t practice arranged marriage. Also, it was very common in Europe prior to the Enlightenment (I may be off on the exact timing).
It has nothing to do with racism and everything to do with human rights, as the other person said.
These are good questions. Not all arranged marriages are forced or abusive. It seems alien to me as an American, but some people value having their family vet potential partners.
See edits above
It’s far too late for edits. You said your peace and you should either accept the fallout or delete what you posted.
That’s uncalled for. I posted my initial reaction, which was mostly misguided. I invested the time and effort to research and learn about the issue and mostly found answers to my questions.
I edited the post to clarify and avoid potentially misleading anyone who may have been of the same mindset. Simple as that. It would be far more dishonest to delete the post and act like I didn’t have questions about the situation. Instead, I did the work to learn a little and share that knowledge with others through a well-sourced response. If you don’t appreciate the effort, while investing none of your own, that’s your own business.
Also, it’s “Say your piece.”
It did cause an interesting discussion. I hadn’t even considered the distinction between forced and arranged. All in all, I appreciated the edit.