A mother accused of forcing her daughter to marry an arranged marriage in exchange for $15,000 has been charged with murdering a young Afghani girl. 

Sakina Mohammed Jan, 45 is being charged with one charge: causing another to get into a forced relationship. 

The police will claim that Ms Jan forced Ruqia Haidari (21) to wed Mohammad Ali Halimi (25), in November 2019.

The couple had only met four times when they were married in front of hundreds of guests just outside of Shepparton, 180km north of Melbourne, in a community hall in Mooroopna. 

Sakina Muhammad Jan, 45, is facing a single charge of causing another person to enter a forced marriage, and faced Shepparton Magistrates Court for the first time on Wednesday

Sakina Mohammed Jan, 45 is charged with one count of forcing another person to get married. Shepparton Magistrates Court was present for her first appearance on Wednesday

Halimi was certain that he would marry Ms Haidari after their first meeting. 

They soon fell apart after they flew to Perth, on the other side of Australia, ten days after Ms Haidari’s last year at McGuire College. 

She repeatedly rejected her husband’s efforts to end the marriage. He then called her brother numerous times. 

On January 18, Muhammad Taqi Haidari listened helplessly as the pair argued not realising this would be the last time he heard his sisters voice, the Herald Sun reported.

But Mr Haidari was still willing to speak with his brother-in law again. He called him back to say: “If you’re male, please come and get my sister’s body.”

The Supreme Court of Western Australia determined that Halimi had taken a knife made from stainless steel out of the kitchen to cut Ms Haidari twice in the interval between calls. 

Shepparton Magistrates Court heard on the first day that Jan was visiting her daughter, Jana in Perth to show her how to clean and cook. 

It will be decided if sufficient evidence is available to prove that she forced the couple into marriage. 

Abbey Gawne, Ms Haidari's best friend (pictured together on the day of graduation), told Daily Mail Australia she had dreams of travelling and adored her new home for the freedoms it afforded her

Abbey Gawne (pictured with Ms Haidari on the day she graduated) told Daily Mail Australia that her best friend and travel dreamer was Abbey Gawne. She adored the freedoms her new house afforded to her.

Friend of the family Shukria Muqadas, 31, revealed in court she was the matchmaker who introduced Ms Haidari to the man who would ultimately end her short life. 

Ms Muqadas claimed that she had followed Fatima’s advice and lived in Pakistan close to him. Fatima said that her brother was a ‘good boy’ who wanted a wife. 

After joking with Ms Haidari for several months about the union, she said that the high schooler suggested to her that she might mention it to her mom. 

Ms Muqadas said it was Hazaragi practice to consult family members of the union. Two traditional nikah ceremonies were held in order to draft the agreement. 

At the second ceremony she said Ms Haidari seemed utterly overwhelmed and that she had confided in herself that she did not want to marry Perth Uber driver. 

Ms Muqadas stated to the court that her young bride was pressured by her sister and her mother to get married and she eventually decided to accept this fate.  

In August 2019, it is alleged Ms Haidari confided in the Australian Federal Police’s human-trafficking team and said she was being coerced into the marriage. 

Less than six months later, Halimi turned himself in to the Mirrabooka police station and was eventually sentenced to a minimum of 19 years in prison for the murder of his wife. 

Ms Haidari (right) married Halimi (centre) in November 2019, and by January 2020, she had been killed

In November 2019, Ms Haidari (right), married Halimi, and she was dead by January 2020.

A letter was written by the former Uber driver claiming that he had reached breaking point following a lengthy period of rejections, heartache, and confusion. 

He had previously complained to his family via videos that Ms Haidari was not getting what he wanted. He felt upset when she refused to cook for him and wash his dishes while he was working as an Uber driver, factory worker or cleaner. 

Halimi claimed that Ms Haidari was forced to wed him. However, she previously admitted to the police that she had told him this.

Ms Haidari and her family had fled Afghanistan for Australia when she was 16 years old, seeking a better life for themselves.

Abbey Gawne is Ms Haidari’s friend and confided to Daily Mail Australia that she always dreamed of travel and loves her new home because it gives her freedom.  

Ever since her wedding, she tried to reach Ms Haidari. According to her, she had spoken with several classmates in high school the day before the death of 21-year-old. She had not heard back from them either. 

“We tried to text and call her, but she was never available. She was so concerned about us all. Our friends told us that her phone would not turn on when they attempted to call it, which indicated she was having an issue.   

Police taped off Ms Haidari's home home and conducted forensic testing after her husband led them to the body

Police sealed Ms Haidari’s residence and did forensic testing, after the husband had led them to her body.

At the close of high school Ms Haidari spoke to Ms Gawne in regards to the possibility of an arranged wedding. 

Ms Haidari claimed that although she wasn’t ready to marry someone she didn’t know, she felt she had no choice but to do so.

“She came to school tired, tired, and very drained. It got to the point where she was actually sleeping in class. “I guess that it was because that’s where her safety is,” Ms Gawne explained.  

Forcing marriage in Australia is classified as a form slavery and a crime, although statistics indicate that up to 80 such cases have occurred in the past financial year.

In Australia, no one has been tried for orchestrating a forced wedding. 

AFP 131 237  

www.mybluesky.org.au helps people who may be forced to marry.