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A female is presently awaiting execution in the Horn of Africa nation after being convicted of killing a teenager in her charge.

The tragic death of parentless child Saabirin Saylaan in November, and the shocking details that emerged about the conditions surrounding her death, triggered demonstrations near her home in Galkayo, along with reinvigorated demands for stronger child protection.

The incident touched a deep nerve in a country where child abuse frequently remains hidden, especially when it occurs inside extended families.

For many, Saabirin's death epitomised a broader failure in child protection and the slow enforcement of legal protections designed to prevent such tragedies.

An Uncommon Judgment

The guilty verdict of 34-year-old Hodan Mohamud Diiriye for murder marked one of the infrequent instances in Somalia where a court imposed the death sentence for child abuse.

Diiriye had rejected the charges and her lawyer has filed an appeal against the ruling.

Her spouse, Abdiaziz Nor, 65, was cleared of murder but given one year in prison and ordered to pay $500 for negligence.

A Tragic Upbringing

Saabirin was left parentless when both her parents passed away within a short period when she was just one year old.

Both of her grandmothers had also died so she was looked after by her late mother's aunt, who made sure she got an education and attended a classical Quranic school.

But her life took a tragic turn in September after Saabirin's great-aunt agreed that Diiriye's family, who needed a domestic helper, could assume her care.

Evidence of Abuse

During their investigation, police disclosed that in the two months she was living there, the young girl had endured "routine physical abuse" - she was assaulted and tortured.

Proof obtained from Diiriye's phone, including videos and audio recordings documented repeated violence. Some of these were released to the public before the trial.

In one especially harrowing recording, Diiriye can be heard saying: "I'm enjoying your pain."

A autopsy of Saabirin's body revealed multiple injuries and deep knife wounds consistent with sustained violence.

Community Anger

As details of the police investigation surfaced, community outrage grew.

Hundreds of women and young people demonstrated in Galkayo, carrying signs reading "Justice for Saabirin" and calling on the authorities to bring to trial all those responsible.

They assembled outside the local hospital where her body was held in the morgue.

Things got so heated that during one protest demonstrators clashed with police and a young man was shot dead.

Online, young women and girls initiated a wave of solidarity campaigns, using social media tags citing Saabirin's name.

"No child should die like this," a emotional 18-year-old protester said in a clip shared on social media. "We also reject the attempts by traditional elders who want to resolve this case through clan customs or behind closed doors."

This refers to when elders from the clans of those involved in a dispute intervene with the aim of avoiding revenge, rather than determine criminal guilt.

A Widespread Problem

Child abuse in Somalia is often hidden within households, and extended families are customarily viewed as private spaces – where the state should not intervene.

Diiriye's trial and other related hearings were streamed live on social media to foster public trust in the justice system.

A regional police commander said the verdict marked an significant moment in the quest of justice for the murdered teenager.

"The perpetrator is now only awaiting the carrying out of the death sentence. If further evidence emerges proving that other individuals were involved in this crime, they will not be spared, the law will be fully enforced to them as well," he said.

A director of a child rights organisation said that "the case underscores the deep gaps that still exist in protecting the most basic human rights of children in our society."

"Children continue to face violence inside family homes, and only the most severe cases ever are reported to the police," he added.

Laws and Obstacles

In the summer this year, police in the capital, Mogadishu, acted on a report that a three-year-old boy had been brutally mistreated inside the home of his father's wife. The alleged perpetrator was swiftly arrested.

According to a assessment, three appalling acts of violence against children occurred in the country during October and November.

The head of a local women's association in Galkayo said the community was inundated with cases of violence in the home, many of which never make it to the courts.

On 1 October this year, Somalia's parliament ratified the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child.

The long-standing charter details legal frameworks to prevent abuse, exploitation and violence against minors.

Its stipulations include:

• Criminalising all forms of child abuse
• Strengthening legal punishment for guardians who harm or neglect children
• Guaranteeing state responsibility for vulnerable and orphaned children
• And establishing monitoring systems in schools, hospitals and communities.

But just three days later, a ministry issued a clarification stating that the implementation of the charter would be guided by Islamic law, with provisions conflicting with religious teaching not being enforced.

It said that Somali parental authority was fundamental and no external entity could supersede it.

Lax Implementation

A women's and child's rights activist argued that implementation of existing measures in Somalia remained ineffective.

The police do not have the capacity to deal with cases along with social services. Cases often get mediated by clan elders, which weakens the justice system and victims' voices are not heard, she said.

She notes that children were often did not know that they could speak out and many schools were not teaching them that they could report abuse.

"In many similar cases, both sides of the family reach a behind-the-door agreement and then inform the government that the matter has been settled," the activist said.

A coordinator for the region's ministry of women's development denies that the authorities are neglecting in their responsibility to protect children.

She highlighted programmes to help youths and efforts to protect street children.

She did however admit that in cases like Saabirin's, it is sometimes difficult to act. She acknowledged that more should be done to increase understanding that people can speak out if they suspect that a child might not be safe.

"Every child has the right to be removed from any household in which they do not feel safe," the official said.

A Force for Conversation

Although Saabirin's life was ended too soon, her death is now compelling long-delayed conversations about child safety in Somalia.

But as the local community considers the verdict, some are uncertain if true accountability will be served in the long run.

"There is nothing to celebrate yet, we still need certainty," one of the young protesters said. "We don't want justice in words, we want to see it with our own eyes. We don't want postponements."