A young woman felt like her voice and future were being taken away when her mother allegedly coerced her into marrying an older man from another state, a jury has been told.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Prosecutors have accused Sakina Muhammad Jan, from Victoria's north, of forcing her 20-year-old daughter into marrying a man from Western Australia in 2019.
Jan has pleaded not guilty and denies her daughter Ruqia Haidari, who has since died, told her that she did not want to marry Mohammad Ali Halimi.
Sitting in the court dock supported by a translator, Jan faced the first day of a trial at the County Court in Melbourne on Wednesday.
Ms Haidari was the youngest of five children, all of whom were born in Afghanistan and migrated to Australia with their mother as refugees in 2013, after their father was murdered by the Taliban.
The family settled in Shepparton and became part of the town's Hazara community.
Prosecutor Darren Renton said Ms Haidari married a man in an Islamic religious ceremony called nikah, but it had ended in divorce before the alleged forced marriage.
Ms Haidari was seen to have "lost her value and does not have good prospects for remarriage" due to the divorce.
"This is a relevant circumstance in the Crown's case, because it goes to the motive to the accused's desire to push her daughter into the marriage," Mr Renton told a jury of 13.
In 2019, a matchmaker spoke to Ms Haidari about her marriage prospects, but she said she wasn't ready and wanted to wait until she was aged 27 or 28, he said.
The matchmaker, Shukria Muqadas, was then told about a man from Perth who was looking for a wife and agreed to assist.
A meeting was arranged with the man, Mr Halimi, who flew from Perth to Shepparton on June 1, where he met Ms Haidari for the first time.
He offered to marry Ms Haidari, but Jan said the family needed time to think about the proposal and he flew back to WA.
Less than two weeks after meeting Mr Halimi, Ms Haidari was married to him on a temporary basis, which allowed her to remain in Shepparton with her family.
However, Ms Haidari told multiple people she did not want to be married, including two of her driving instructors, a teacher, counsellor and police, Mr Renton told the jury.
"She felt like she was having her voice and future taken away," he said.
"It all happened in a very rushed way ... she did not know her fiance, he wasn't even from Victoria, she was worried about living her life with someone she did not know."
Ms Haidari allegedly told police she was going to be permanently married to Mr Halimi on August 20 but she did not want to go ahead, Mr Renton said.
She also said Jan had been paid a $10,000 dowry from Mr Halimi.
Mr Renton alleged Ms Haidari told her mother, on August 19, that she did not want to marry Mr Halimi and Jan told her it was not up to her.
"Are you my mother or I'm your mother? I can make decisions for you," he claimed Jan told Ms Haidari.
Two days later, Ms Haidari's brother arranged an officiant and she was permanently married to Mr Halimi.
While she gave verbal consent at the ceremony, Mr Renton said it was coerced.
Jan denies all allegations of coercion and denies her daughter told her she did not want to be married to Mr Halimi.
"She denies her daughter did not fully and freely consent to the permanent nikah, she denies her daughter entered into the nikah because of coercion, threat or deception," defence barrister Andrew Buckland said.
He asked the jury to dismiss any feelings of sympathy or prejudice and to put any preconceived ideas about arranged marriage to the side.
The trial continues.
Australian Associated Press
