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A woman is currently facing the death penalty in the Horn of Africa nation after being convicted of murdering a 14-year-old girl in her charge.

The killing 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 fresh calls for greater child protection.

The case touched a deep nerve in a country where child abuse frequently remains hidden, especially when it takes place inside kinship networks.

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

A Rare Verdict

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 death sentence for child abuse.

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

Her husband, Abdiaziz Nor, 65, was cleared of murder but sentenced 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 needed a domestic helper, could assume her care.

Evidence of Abuse

During their investigation, police disclosed 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 videos and audio recordings captured repeated violence. Some of these were released to the public before the trial.

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

A post-mortem examination of Saabirin's body revealed multiple injuries and deep stab wounds consistent with prolonged violence.

Public Outcry

As details of the police investigation emerged, community outrage escalated.

Many of women and young people demonstrated in Galkayo, carrying signs reading "We Demand Justice" and calling on 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 clashed with police and a young man was killed by gunfire.

Online, young women and girls launched a wave of support movements, 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 oppose the attempts by traditional elders who want to resolve this case through tribal agreements or behind closed doors."

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

A Systemic Challenge

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

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 represented 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 surfaces 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 deep 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.

Legal Frameworks and Challenges

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

Its stipulations include:

• Criminalising all forms of child abuse
• Strengthening 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 statement stating that the implementation of the charter would be in accordance with Islamic law, with provisions contrary to religious teaching not being enforced.

It said that Somali family rights was fundamental and no external entity could override it.

Weak Enforcement

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

The police do not have the resources 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 speak out and many schools were not teaching them that they could disclose abuse.

"In many similar cases, both sides of the family reach a private 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 denies 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 challenging to intervene. She acknowledged that more should be done to increase awareness 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 compelling overdue conversations about child safety in Somalia.

But as the local community considers the verdict, some are uncertain if true accountability will be achieved in the long run.

"There is nothing to celebrate 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."