Appearing on television with songs addressing highly controversial topics such as conjugal life, poverty and inequality, she was censored in Mauritania in the early 1990s but began to perform abroad by the end of the decade.

In December 2014, she announced she was moving from the opposition to join the ruling party, the Union for the Republic, where she felt she could be more effective in contributing to the country's progress.

Her work has been recognized by the French, who decorated her as a Knight of the Legion of Honor, and the Americans, whose ambassador to Mauritania named her a Mauritanian Woman of Courage.

Malouma Mint Moktar Ould Meidah was born in Mederdra in the Trarza Region of south-western Mauritania, on October 1, 1960,[1] the year the country gained independence from France.

[10] As a result, she grew up listening to classical western works such as Beethoven, Chopin, Mozart,[11] Vivaldi[2] and Wagner, as well as the music of traditional Berber, Egyptian, Lebanese and Senegalese artists.

[4] In addition to her father's guidance, she was inspired by other traditional artists including Oum Kalthoum, Abdel Halim Hafez, Fairouz, Dimi and Sabah.

[12] Soon after she wrote it, her family moved to Nouakchott, the capital, to help her launch her music career,[12] but in the strongly traditional society, Malouma was forced to marry, abandoning singing until the late 1980s.

"[13] Malouma's first major appearance was in 1986, when she revealed her fusion style, combining traditional interpretations with more modern developments including blues, jazz, and electro.

[2] Her early songs "Habibi habeytou", "Cyam ezzaman tijri" and "Awdhu billah", which openly addressed love, conjugal life and the inequalities between men and women, contrasted strongly with what was considered acceptable in her home country.

[5] Typically, her compositions are based on the traditions of classical Arab poets, such as Al-Mutanabbi and Antarah ibn Shaddad, whose verses cover political criticism, personal sacrifice and support for the weak and oppressed.

Their style was controversial, especially after the release of her song "Habibi Habeytou" and a 1988 appearance at the Carthage Festival in Tunis, as she addressed social issues, such as poverty, inequality and disease which were not generally acceptable in Mauritania.

[18] After being censored for writing songs promoting women's rights,[19] she was banned from appearing on public television and radio, holding concerts, and was even denied a permanent address.

[11] The traditional griots are songs of praise, but Malouma used her voice to speak out against child marriages, racial and ethnic discrimination, slavery and other divisive issues facing a country at the crossroads of the Arab world and Africa.

In so doing, she was also able to extend music based on the traditional string instruments of the Moors to include the beat of the djembe, the darbouka, and the bendir frame drum.

Led by Hadradmy Ould Meidah, the group supported her desire to modernize traditional music, making it more accessible to the wider world.

Produced by Marabi Records in 2003, the album contained twelve songs which blended harps, lutes and skin drums with electric guitar and bass, and traditional genres like serbat, which usually focuses on a single minor chord, with jazz.

[11] Reviews were mixed,[27][28] but the CD ranked as number 14 on the World Music Charts Europe by September 2007,[29] and her fusion of "ear-catching melodies native to the Maghreb" and Western genres was well received.

Dressed in a blue toga, she presented her new album, Knou, at a special event, appearing on stage for the first time since her election seven years earlier.

[8] Malouma returned to the stage in August 2003, appearing at the Festival des Musiques Métisses in Angoulême, France, combining traditional Moorish music with a more modern approach in numbers from her album Dunya.

[8] Malouma toured in the United States in 2005 with appearances in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Chicago, Illinois, Boston and Cambridge, Massachusetts, Lafayette, Louisiana (for the Festival International de Louisiane), before finishing in New York City.

[38][39] At the 2012 Festival International des Arts de l’Ahaggar in Abalessa, Algeria, she was chosen as one of the three artists to perform in the grand finale, receiving acclaim for the balance of instrumentals and vocals, the composition, and her two back-up vocalists.

[13] Even so, her Knou lyrics included allusions to her favorite political causes: equality and rights for all, women's place in society, and education for the young, all under threat, as well as environmental protection.

Referring to her political role as a senator for the opposition party Assembly of Democratic Forces, in August 2014 she commented: "I use my presence and speaking time in the chamber to extend the effect of my texts and my songs.

[10] At a press conference on December 16, 2014, Malouma announced she was leaving the opposition and joining the ruling party, the Union for the Republic, on the grounds that she could participate more effectively in building Mauritania by standing behind the policies of the current leader Aziz.

[13] When she produced Nour in 2007, Malouma collaborated with the painter, Sidi Yahia, hoping to create visual images to illustrate the songs in the album.

[34][61] That same year, N'Diaye Cheikh, a Mauritanian filmmaker, produced a documentary about her, entitled Malouma, diva des sables (Malouma, Diva of the Sands) with Mosaic Films, which won Best Documentary at the Festival international du film de quartier (FIFQ; Dakar, Senegal)[62] and a 2007 Prize of Distinction from Festival International de Programmes Audiovisuels (FIPA), held in Biarritz, France.

[20] Malouma was decorated in 2013 as a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor by the French ambassador, Hervé Besancenot, acting on behalf of President Nicolas Sarkozy of France.

[10][65] On January 20, 2015, Malouma, Mauritania's "singer of the people and Senator", was honored by the American ambassador, Larry André, at a lunch attended by notable leaders, especially women, from the country's civil society.