Malouma Mint El Meidah

Who is Malouma Mint El Meidah?

Malouma Mint El Mokhtar Ould El Meidah was born on 1 October 1960 in Mederdra, in the Trarza region of southwestern Mauritania, the same year the country gained independence from France. Raised by parents versed in traditional Mauritanian music, she began performing publicly at the age of twelve and soon built a following through solo concerts. Her early song "Habibi Habeytou" openly criticized the mistreatment of women within traditional society, drawing both acclaim and controversy, and after being forced into an early marriage she stepped away from singing until resuming her career in 1986, developing a distinctive style that fused traditional Moorish music with blues, jazz, and electronic influences. In 2007, in what was widely regarded as Mauritania's first free and fair election, she became one of six women elected to the Senate and the first member of the musician iggawen caste to enter politics; she was briefly arrested after the 2008 coup for her critical songs, with over a thousand of her recordings seized, before returning as an opposition senator in 2009. In 2011 she was named the IUCN's Goodwill Ambassador for Central and West Africa, and she has been honored as a Knight of the French Legion of Honor and recognized by the United States as a Mauritanian Woman of Courage.

Sources: Wikipedia, "Malouma" · Peoplepill, "Malouma: Mauritanian singer, politician (1960-)" · IUCN, Goodwill Ambassador for Central and West Africa announcement (2011)