Goumou…

Khaira Arby is the reigning queen of song in Timbuktu, Mali. She’s been writing and singing in the indigenous languages of her Sahara Desert region — Sonrhai, Tamaschek, Bambara, Arabic — for decades…Perhaps Arby’s greatest social impact in a conservative Islamic milieu has been her advocacy on behalf of women. She divorced a controlling husband to pursue a career in music. (She’s since remarried.)…As a singer, she’s opened the door to a generation of artistic women who now follow in her footsteps… — NPR