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A woman is now awaiting execution in the Horn of Africa nation after being found guilty of murdering a 14-year-old girl in her charge.

The murder of parentless child Saabirin Saylaan in last autumn, and the horrific details that emerged about the conditions surrounding her death, sparked protests near her home in Galkayo, along with reinvigorated calls for greater child protection.

The incident resonated deeply in a country where child abuse often goes unreported, particularly when it occurs inside kinship networks.

For numerous people, Saabirin's death represented a broader failure in child protection and the slow implementation 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 uncommon instances in Somalia where a court handed down the ultimate penalty for child abuse.

Diiriye had denied the charges and her lawyer has lodged an challenge against the verdict.

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

A Tragic Upbringing

Saabirin was left parentless when both her parents passed away 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 tragic 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 inquiry, police disclosed that in the two months she was living there, the young girl had endured "regular physical abuse" - she was beaten and tortured.

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

In one particularly 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.

Public Outcry

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

Many of women and young people demonstrated in Galkayo, holding signs reading "We Demand Justice" and urging the authorities to prosecute all those responsible.

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

Things got so tense that during one protest demonstrators confronted police and a young man was killed by gunfire.

Online, young women and girls launched a wave of solidarity campaigns, using social media tags citing 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 oppose the attempts by traditional elders who want to settle this case through tribal agreements or behind closed doors."

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

A Systemic Challenge

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

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 offender is now only awaiting the implementation of the death sentence. If further evidence surfaces proving that additional individuals were involved in this crime, they will not be exempted, the law will be fully enforced to them as well," he said.

A director of a child rights organisation said that "this tragedy underscores the profound 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 are reported to the police," he added.

Laws and Obstacles

In June this year, police in the capital, Mogadishu, received a report that a three-year-old boy had been severely abused inside the home of his father's wife. The alleged perpetrator was swiftly arrested.

According to a report, three horrific 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 ratified the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child.

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

Its provisions include:

• Outlawing all forms of child abuse
• Strengthening legal punishment for guardians who harm or neglect children
• Ensuring 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 statement 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 family rights was paramount and no external entity could supersede it.

Lax Implementation

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

The police do not have the resources 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 adds that children were often unaware that they could report abuse 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 official for the region's ministry of women's development rejects 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 intervene. 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 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 rejoice 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 delays."