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A female is now facing execution in the Horn of Africa nation after being convicted of murdering a 14-year-old girl in her care.

The tragic death of parentless child Saabirin Saylaan in November, and the shocking details that came to light about the circumstances surrounding her death, triggered protests near her home in Galkayo, along with renewed demands for enhanced child protection.

The incident touched a deep nerve in a nation where child abuse often goes unreported, especially when it takes place inside kinship networks.

For numerous people, Saabirin's death epitomised a broader failure in child protection and the slow enforcement of legal protections designed to prevent such tragedies.

A Rare Verdict

The conviction of 34-year-old Hodan Mohamud Diiriye for murder represented one of the uncommon instances in Somalia where a court handed down the ultimate penalty for child abuse.

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

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 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 great-aunt agreed that Diiriye's family, who required a domestic helper, could assume her care.

Proof of Maltreatment

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 subjected to cruelty.

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

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

A autopsy 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.

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

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

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

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 clans of those involved in a dispute intervene with the aim of preventing revenge, rather than determine criminal guilt.

A Systemic Challenge

Child abuse in Somalia is often concealed within households, and relatives 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 ensure 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 perpetrator is now only awaiting the carrying out of the death sentence. If further evidence emerges 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 "the case 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.

Legal Frameworks and Challenges

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 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 overwhelmed with cases of violence in the home, many of which never reach 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 provisions 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 statement stating that the implementation of the charter would be guided by Islamic law, with provisions conflicting with 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 enforcement 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 did not know 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 resolved," the activist said.

A official for the region's ministry of women's development denies 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 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 Force for Conversation

Although Saabirin's life was ended too soon, her death is now forcing long-delayed conversations about child safety in Somalia.

But as the local community reflects on the verdict, some are uncertain if justice 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."