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A female is now awaiting execution in Somalia after being convicted of killing a teenager in her care.

The killing of orphan Saabirin Saylaan in last autumn, and the horrific details that came to light about the conditions surrounding her death, triggered demonstrations near her home in Galkayo, along with fresh demands for stronger child protection.

The incident resonated deeply in a nation where child abuse frequently goes unreported, especially when it occurs inside extended families.

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

An Uncommon Judgment

The conviction of 34-year-old Hodan Mohamud Diiriye for murder represented one of the uncommon instances in Somalia where a court imposed the death sentence for child abuse.

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

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

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 elder female relatives had also died so she was cared for by her late mother's aunt, who ensured she got an schooling and attended a traditional Quranic school.

But her life took a devastating turn in September after Saabirin's great-aunt 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 endured "routine physical abuse" - she was beaten and subjected to cruelty.

Evidence obtained from Diiriye's phone, including recordings and audio recordings captured repeated violence. Some of these were released to the public before the trial.

In one particularly harrowing 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 knife wounds indicative of prolonged violence.

Public Outcry

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

Hundreds of women and young people demonstrated in Galkayo, holding 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 held in the morgue.

Things got so tense 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 hashtags 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 avoiding revenge, rather than determine criminal guilt.

A Widespread Problem

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 streamed live on social media to ensure public trust in the justice system.

A regional police commander said the verdict marked an important moment in the pursuit of justice for the murdered teenager.

"The offender is now only awaiting the implementation of the death sentence. If further evidence emerges proving that additional 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 underscores 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 reach the police," he added.

Laws and Obstacles

In the summer 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 accused perpetrator was swiftly 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 approved the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child.

The decades-old charter outlines legal frameworks to prevent abuse, exploitation and violence against minors.

Its provisions include:

• Criminalising 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 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 supersede it.

Lax Implementation

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

The police do not have 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 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 resolved," the activist said.

A official 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 difficult to act. She acknowledged that more should be done to increase awareness 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 Force for Conversation

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 uncertain if justice will be achieved in the long run.

"There is nothing to rejoice 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."