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A female is presently awaiting execution in Somalia after being found guilty of murdering a 14-year-old girl in her charge.

The killing of orphan Saabirin Saylaan in last autumn, and the horrific details that emerged about the conditions surrounding her death, triggered demonstrations near her home in Galkayo, along with renewed demands for greater child protection.

The tragedy resonated deeply in a country where child abuse frequently goes unreported, particularly when it occurs inside extended families.

For numerous people, Saabirin's death symbolised a broader failure in child protection and the delayed implementation of legal protections meant to prevent such tragedies.

A Rare Verdict

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

Diiriye had denied the charges and her lawyer has lodged an appeal against the ruling.

Her spouse, Abdiaziz Nor, 65, was acquitted of murder but sentenced one year in prison and fined $500 for failure of care.

A Tragic Upbringing

Saabirin was orphaned when both her parents died within a brief time when she was just one year old.

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

But her life took a devastating turn in September after Saabirin's elder relative agreed that Diiriye's family, who needed a domestic helper, could assume her care.

Proof of Maltreatment

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.

Evidence obtained from Diiriye's phone, including recordings and audio recordings documented ongoing violence. Some of these were leaked to the public before the trial.

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

A post-mortem examination of Saabirin's body showed multiple injuries and deep knife wounds consistent with sustained violence.

Community Anger

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

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

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

Things got so tense that during one protest demonstrators confronted police and a young man was shot dead.

Online, young women and girls launched a wave of support movements, using social media tags invoking Saabirin's name.

"No child should die like this," a tearful 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 families 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 concealed within households, and extended families are customarily viewed as private spaces – where the state should not interfere.

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

A regional police commander said the verdict represented an important moment in the pursuit of justice for the murdered teenager.

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

A director of a child rights organisation said that "this tragedy highlights the deep gaps that still exist in safeguarding the most basic human rights of children in our society."

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

Laws and Obstacles

In June 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 quickly arrested.

According to a report, 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 overwhelmed with cases of violence in the home, many of which never make it to the courts.

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

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

Its stipulations include:

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

But just three days later, a government department issued a clarification stating that the implementation of the charter would be in accordance with Islamic law, with provisions contrary to religious teaching not being applied.

It said that Somali family rights was fundamental and no external entity could supersede it.

Weak Enforcement

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

The police lack the capacity to deal with cases along with social services. Cases often get interfered with clan elders, which undermines the justice system and victims' voices are not heard, she said.

She notes that children were often unaware 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 rejects that the authorities are neglecting in their responsibility to protect children.

She pointed out 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 raise concerns if they suspect that a child might not be safe.

"Every child has the right to be taken 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 overdue conversations about child safety in Somalia.

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

"There is nothing to celebrate yet, we still need clarity," 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."