[1][2] She started performing in the 1960s and is recognised as Sudan's first female professional guitarist.
She did not complete her secondary education, but taught for four years at the Fella Gerges School and studied courses provided by the Sudanese Red Crescent, and literacy course arranged by the municipal council.
In the 1960s the jazz musician Sharhabil Ahmed, who she subsequently married, invited her to join his band.
During their time in Cairo they performed at Cairo Opera House and at the Roman theatre in Alexandria, and toured to festivals in places including Asmara, Berlin, London, Paris and the Netherlands.
[2] She has said that before late 1980s and the start of the Omar Al Bashir regime, the government of supported cultural festivals: "The Ministry of Culture was not stingy in carrying folk and artistic groups on a full plane in which all races were represented, but now it is not interested in developing arts and does not recognise or evaluate the artistic wealth of its country.