The old Somali adage, "A mother's purpose is to be a cook, laundrywoman, nurturer and wife to her husband," describes to some degree the traditional role of the women in Somaliland. That role was radically altered by the Somali civil war of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Traditionally, Somali men were the providers of their families' basic needs. However, when the civil war erupted, thousands of them were killed, maimed or exiled. In the aftermath of the war, the task of caring for the thousands of families in Somaliland fell to the women, who had to take on the dual role of father and mother in their homes.