In a distressing incident evoking nationwide outrage, an eight-year-old girl missing for six months has been found living with a man who claims to have married her. The girl, who vanished from her family in Puntland last September, became the center of a heated debate after her father reportedly consented to her marriage to an adult identified as Sheikh Mahmoud.
Last week, local security forces intervened at Sheikh Mahmoud's residence after he barricaded himself in with the child. Following intense public backlash and protests in Mogadishu, authorities acted on a complaint lodged by the girl's family, leading to her safe recovery.
Fadumo Ahmed, chairperson of the Somali Women Vision Organization, highlighted the alarming nature of the allegations surrounding the girl's abduction and the family's lack of awareness about her whereabouts. "We trust the responsible institutions to take the right and necessary legal action," she remarked, echoing sentiments shared widely on social media.
The case unfolded when the girl’s uncle alleged that she was taken from her home in Bosaso by a female relative under the guise of a visit to another relative. Months later, a video surfaced featuring the girl reciting the Quran, prompting her family to search for her. Eventually, they discovered that she was in the care of Sheikh Mahmoud in the Carmo area.
Initially claiming he was only instructing the girl in religious studies, Sheikh Mahmoud later asserted that he had married her with her father's endorsement. When queried about the moral implications of marrying an eight-year-old, he referenced Islamic traditions that support child marriage, a claim contested by many Somali religious scholars.
As a result of the family's legal action, Puntland police intervened, securing the girl's safety and returning her to her family. Authorities have since initiated an investigation into the matter.
Child marriage remains a significant issue in Somalia, with alarming statistics revealing that 35% of women aged between 20 and 24 were married before the age of 18 as of a 2020 report by the United Nations Population Fund. Efforts to address this issue continued in 2023 with a draft child rights bill aimed at reforming existing laws, although progress remains slow amid parliamentary objections.
This incident has reignited discussions around child protection and the urgent need for legislative change in Somalia.
