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A female is currently facing the death penalty in the Horn of Africa nation after being convicted of murdering a teenager in her charge.

The killing of parentless child Saabirin Saylaan in November, and the gruesome details that emerged about the circumstances surrounding her death, triggered demonstrations near her home in Galkayo, along with reinvigorated demands for greater child protection.

The incident resonated deeply in a nation where child abuse often remains hidden, particularly when it occurs inside clan households.

For numerous people, Saabirin's death symbolised a wider shortcoming in child protection and the delayed implementation of legal safeguards designed to prevent such atrocities.

A Rare Verdict

The conviction of 34-year-old Hodan Mohamud Diiriye for murder represented one of the infrequent cases in Somalia where a court handed down the death sentence for child abuse.

Diiriye had rejected the charges and her lawyer has lodged an appeal against the decision.

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

A Life Cut Short

Saabirin was left parentless when both her parents died within a short period 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 ensured she got an education 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 home help, could assume her care.

Evidence of Abuse

During their inquiry, police revealed that in the two months she was living there, the young girl had suffered "regular physical abuse" - she was assaulted and tortured.

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

In one especially harrowing recording, Diiriye can be heard saying: "I take pleasure in your pain."

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

Public Outcry

As details of the police investigation surfaced, public anger escalated.

Hundreds of women and young people demonstrated in Galkayo, carrying signs reading "Justice for Saabirin" and calling on 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 shot dead.

Online, young women and girls launched a wave of solidarity campaigns, 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 settle this case through clan customs or behind closed doors."

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

A Systemic Challenge

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 broadcast live on social media to foster public trust in the justice system.

A regional police commander said the verdict represented an important 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 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 "this tragedy highlights 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 severe 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 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 approved 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 provisions include:

• Outlawing all forms of child abuse
• Toughening 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 government department issued a clarification stating that the implementation of the charter would be in accordance with Islamic law, with provisions conflicting with religious teaching not being enforced.

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 enforcement of existing 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 weakens the justice system and victims' voices are not heard, she said.

She adds 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 private agreement and then inform the government that the matter has been resolved," the activist said.

A official for the region's ministry of women's development denies that the authorities are failing 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 challenging 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 taken from any household in which they do not feel safe," the official said.

A Catalyst for Change

Although Saabirin's life was cut tragically short, her death is now compelling long-delayed conversations about child safety in Somalia.

But as the local community reflects on the verdict, some are unsure if justice will be achieved 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 postponements."