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A female is presently facing the death penalty in Somalia after being found guilty of killing a 14-year-old girl in her charge.

The tragic death of parentless child Saabirin Saylaan in November, and the horrific details that emerged about the conditions surrounding her death, triggered protests near her home in Galkayo, along with renewed demands for enhanced child protection.

The tragedy touched a deep nerve in a nation where child abuse often goes unreported, especially when it takes place inside clan households.

For numerous people, Saabirin's death represented a broader shortcoming in child protection and the sluggish implementation of legal protections designed to prevent such atrocities.

A Rare Verdict

The guilty verdict of 34-year-old Hodan Mohamud Diiriye for murder marked one of the uncommon cases in Somalia where a court handed down the ultimate penalty for child abuse.

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

Her husband, Abdiaziz Nor, 65, was acquitted of murder but given one year in prison and fined $500 for negligence.

A Tragic Upbringing

Saabirin was orphaned when both her parents passed away 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 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 home help, 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 suffered "regular physical abuse" - she was beaten and subjected to cruelty.

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

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

A post-mortem examination of Saabirin's body showed multiple injuries and deep stab wounds indicative of sustained violence.

Community Anger

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

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

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

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

Online, young women and girls initiated a wave of support movements, 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 tribal agreements 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 Systemic Challenge

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 marked an important moment in the quest of justice for the murdered teenager.

"The perpetrator 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 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 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 accused 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 reach 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 details legal frameworks to prevent abuse, exploitation and violence against children.

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 clarification stating that the implementation of the charter would be guided by Islamic law, with provisions contrary to religious teaching not being applied.

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

Lax Implementation

A women's and child's rights activist argued 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 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 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 challenging 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 ended too soon, her death is now forcing overdue conversations about child safety in Somalia.

But as the local community reflects on the verdict, some are unsure 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."