Batool received a minimum term of 33 years.
An inquest into the death of 10-year-old Sara Sharif will not take place until next year, a senior coroner has confirmed.
Sara’s father, Urfan Sharif, and her stepmother, Beinash Batool, were jailed for life in December 2024 after being convicted of her murder.
Her body was discovered at the family home in Woking, Surrey, in August 2023, triggering national outrage and deep concern within British South Asian communities.
The court heard Sara had been subjected to a brutal campaign of torture that lasted for two years before her death.
A post-mortem examination revealed dozens of injuries, including bite marks, an iron burn and scalding caused by hot water.
Senior coroner for Surrey, Richard Travers, set a provisional inquest date of April 5, 2027, during a pre-inquest review hearing.
During the hearing, Batool asked whether she would be allowed to give evidence at the inquest.
Speaking via video link from prison, she said she understood this would not overturn her conviction.
Batool told the court she was not seeking to challenge the verdict but felt her voice was not heard during the criminal trial.
Travers said Batool would only be permitted to give evidence if it was relevant to the scope of the inquest.
He added that she could submit a written statement if she wished to do so.
Matthew Turner, representing Sara’s mother, Olga Domin, said the convicted pair would have the right to ask questions during proceedings.
Counsel to the inquest, Alison Mitchell, said discussions were ongoing about the full scope of the inquiry.
She explained that it may examine what was known about the risk of violence to Sara from birth until she was placed with Sharif and Batool in 2019.
The inquest may also assess how children’s services managed that risk and why the placement decision was made.
It is expected to explore what happened during Sara’s final months, her cause of death and whether fears of racism influenced professional responses.
Mitchell said the inquiry could consider why adoption was discussed but ultimately ruled out, and the role of Cafcass in that decision.
Plans for monitoring Sara after 2019, and why that monitoring later stopped, are also likely to be examined.
The inquest may review reports of injuries seen by Sara’s school and whether more could have been done by staff or children’s services.
Concerns raised by the school about Batool’s behaviour towards the children are expected to be scrutinised.
Applications for home schooling made by Sharif in 2022 and 2023, and how authorities responded, may also form part of the inquiry.
A previous review found Surrey County Council attempted to check on Sara the day before she was murdered, but attended the wrong address.
The local authority later apologised and said it had taken robust action to address the review’s findings.
The review concluded that services in Surrey failed to identify that Sara was at risk of abuse and did not question unexplained bruising.
It also found professionals failed to properly investigate why Sara began wearing a hijab, which concealed injuries, due to fear of offending.
The report stated there were several points in Sara’s life when different actions could and should have been taken by authorities.
It concluded that the system failed to keep Sara safe.
Sharif and Batool were found guilty of murder at the Old Bailey in December 2024.
Sharif was sentenced to a minimum of 40 years in prison, while Batool received a minimum term of 33 years.
Sara’s uncle, Faisal Malik, was jailed for 16 years after being convicted of causing or allowing her death.
The next pre-inquest review hearing is scheduled to take place on May 1.
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