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

The murder of orphan Saabirin Saylaan in last autumn, and the shocking details that emerged about the conditions surrounding her death, provoked protests near her home in Galkayo, along with fresh calls for stronger child protection.

The tragedy struck a chord in a country where child abuse frequently remains hidden, particularly when it occurs inside kinship networks.

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

A Rare Verdict

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 ultimate penalty for child abuse.

Diiriye had rejected the charges and her lawyer has filed an challenge against the decision.

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

Both of her grandmothers had also died so she was cared for by her late mother's aunt, who ensured she got an education and attended a traditional Quranic school.

But her life took a tragic turn in September after Saabirin's elder relative agreed that Diiriye's family, who required a home help, could assume her care.

Evidence of Abuse

During their inquiry, police disclosed that in the two months she was living there, the young girl had endured "regular physical abuse" - she was assaulted and subjected to cruelty.

Proof obtained from Diiriye's phone, including videos and audio recordings documented repeated 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 post-mortem examination of Saabirin's body revealed multiple injuries and deep knife wounds consistent with sustained violence.

Public Outcry

As details of the police investigation emerged, public anger grew.

Many of women and young people demonstrated in Galkayo, holding signs reading "Justice for Saabirin" 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 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 oppose the attempts by traditional elders who want to resolve 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 establish criminal guilt.

A Widespread Problem

Child abuse in Somalia is often hidden within households, and relatives 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 represented 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 emerges proving that other individuals were involved in this crime, they will not be spared, the law will be fully applied to them as well," he said.

A director of a child rights organisation said that "this tragedy 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.

Legal Frameworks and Challenges

In the summer this year, police in the capital, Mogadishu, acted on a report that a three-year-old boy had been severely abused inside the home of his father's wife. The accused 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 decades-old charter details legal frameworks to prevent abuse, exploitation and violence against children.

Its stipulations include:

• Outlawing all forms of child abuse
• Toughening 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 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 family rights was paramount and no external entity could supersede it.

Weak Enforcement

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

The police lack the capacity to deal with cases along with social services. Cases often get mediated by 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 disclose 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 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 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 removed 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 true accountability will be achieved 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."