Burao (PP News Desk) — The so-called YouTube Civil Court of Dahir Alasow recently interviewed a woman who claimed that her underage daughter had been raped and impregnated by “my brother and my father.” The mother mentioned her daughter’s name, her daughter’s sub-clan and the sub-clan of her father. “My daughter has an underdeveloped brain; therefore, I had to leave her with my family to care for her,” the mother said.
The woman claimed that, as a child, she had witnessed her father rape a woman while her mother was away. “I did not tell anyone what happened. I did not want the incident to lead to a family breakdown,” she added.
The mother of the daughter claimed that she had lodged a complaint with the Burao police of the Somaliland administration. The police station urged her to bring the elder of her sub-clan to address the issue through customary law rather than the justice system.
Fathia Absiye, a Somali YouTuber, said that mentioning the name of the victim and sharing her photos on YouTube is a violation of the child’s rights, but “the allegations are not unprecedented.” “Children suffer sexual abuse mainly in their family homes, where they expect to be safe and nurtured,” Absiye said. She interviewed the woman whose daughter was allegedly raped by her uncle and grandfather.
The hybrid justice system of the Somaliland administration gives primacy to customary law over the penal code. Elders settle most cases out of court, particularly those involving rape and murder. Absiye campaigns against the lopsided justice system of the Somaliland administration, which empowers traditional patriarchy and relegates the penal code to a lower status. “ Religious groups advocate for resolving disputes outside the court, which is why the Burao police instructed the female complainant to involve her sub-clan elder” said a lawyer in Hargeisa.
“The thinking that the clan protects the rights of children perverts the course of justice. It is a crisis that political elites keep under the rug,” said Absiye.
© Puntland Post, 2025
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