🔗 Share this article

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

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

The incident struck a chord in a country where child abuse frequently remains hidden, especially when it takes place inside extended families.

For many, Saabirin's death epitomised a wider shortcoming in child protection and the delayed implementation of legal safeguards meant to prevent such atrocities.

A Rare Verdict

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

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

Her husband, Abdiaziz Nor, 65, was cleared of murder but sentenced one year in prison and ordered to pay $500 for failure of care.

A Tragic Upbringing

Saabirin was left parentless when both her parents died within a short period 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 made sure she got an education 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 required a domestic helper, could take her in.

Proof of Maltreatment

During their investigation, police revealed that in the two months she was living there, the young girl had endured "routine physical abuse" - she was assaulted and subjected to cruelty.

Evidence recovered from Diiriye's phone, including videos and audio recordings captured 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, public anger grew.

Hundreds of women and young people demonstrated in Galkayo, holding signs reading "Justice for Saabirin" and urging the authorities to prosecute all those responsible.

They assembled 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 citing 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 reject the attempts by traditional elders who want to settle this case through clan customs or behind closed doors."

This refers to 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 Systemic Challenge

Child abuse in Somalia is often concealed 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 broadcast live on social media to foster 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 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 "this tragedy underscores the deep gaps that still exist in protecting 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 severely abused inside the home of his father's wife. The accused 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 outlines 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
• 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 in accordance with Islamic law, with provisions contrary to religious teaching not being applied.

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 argued that implementation of existing measures in Somalia remained weak.

The police lack the resources to deal with cases along with social services. Cases often get mediated by clan elders, which weakens 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 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 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 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 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 justice 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."