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A woman is currently awaiting execution in Somalia after being found guilty of killing a teenager in her care.

The killing of orphan Saabirin Saylaan in November, and the shocking details that came to light about the conditions surrounding her death, provoked protests near her home in Galkayo, along with renewed calls for greater child protection.

The case resonated deeply in a country where child abuse frequently goes unreported, particularly when it takes place inside extended families.

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

A Rare Verdict

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

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

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

A Life Cut Short

Saabirin was left parentless 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 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 devastating turn in September after Saabirin's elder relative agreed that Diiriye's family, who required a home help, 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 recovered 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'm enjoying your pain."

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

Community Anger

As details of the police investigation surfaced, community outrage grew.

Hundreds of women and young people demonstrated in Galkayo, holding signs reading "We Demand Justice" and calling on the authorities to prosecute all those responsible.

They assembled 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 killed by gunfire.

Online, young women and girls launched 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 settle this case through tribal agreements or behind closed doors."

This describes 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 hidden within households, and extended families are traditionally viewed as safe 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 represented 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 surfaces proving that additional individuals were involved in this crime, they will not be exempted, 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 severe cases ever are reported to the police," he added.

Laws and Obstacles

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 alleged perpetrator was swiftly arrested.

According to a report, three horrific 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 long-standing 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 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 parental authority was paramount and no external entity could override it.

Lax Implementation

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

The police do not have the capacity to deal with cases along with social services. Cases often get interfered with 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 private agreement and then inform the government that the matter has been resolved," 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 act. 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 long-delayed conversations about child safety in Somalia.

But as the local community reflects on the verdict, some are unsure if justice will be served 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 postponements."