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Posted by Benoit Darrieux (Tripoli, Lebanon) on 23 July 2009 in People & Portrait and Portfolio.

Woman assisting to the same meeting in her village (see previous pic). Due to religious pratices, she cannot be part of the same group.

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.

More than 20,000 men lost their lives during the civil war, leaving widows and orphans behind. Over 300,000 people were displaced externally and internally due to the war, many of them men who have permanently settled elsewhere and married other wives. Of the dead, up to 3,500 people in Somaliland were killed by landmines.

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.

According to a 2004 World Bank survey, women were the breadwinners in 70 percent of Somaliland households.

Sorry if I cannot answer your messages, I'll be out for few days. I will be back early december with pics from Indonesia ! Cheers

As well... loubnan.aminus3.com

All images are copyrighted © Benoit Darrieux and are not to be used without permission.