Malouma

Quick Facts

Full Name	Malouma
Occupation	Politician
Date Of Birth	Oct 1, 1960(1960-10-01)
Age	64
Birthplace	Mederdra
Country	Mauritania
Birth City	Trarza Region
Horoscope	Libra

Malouma Biography

Malouma is one of the most popular and richest Politician who was born on October 1, 1960 in Mederdra, Trarza Region, Mauritania. Malouma Mint Ould Moktar Ould Mahdah was born on October 1, 1960 in Mederdra, south-western Mauritania. This was the day that the country became independent from France. She was born into a griot household and grew up in Charatt in West Africa, a small desert village. Mokhtar Ould Mahdah was her father and a well-known poet, singer, and tidinet player. Her grandfather Mohamed Yahya Ould Boubane is a gifted writer and tidinet virtuoso. Her mother is also a traditional singer from a well-respected family. When she was six years old, she taught her daughter how to play the ardin (a ten-stringed harp that is traditionally played by women).

Malouma made her first public appearance in 1986. She introduced her fusion style which combines traditional interpretations with modern developments such as blues, jazz and electro. Her first songs, “Habibi habeytou”, and “Cyam Ezzaman Tijri”, openly discussed love, conjugal life, and inequalities. This was in stark contrast to what was acceptable in her country. They were nevertheless very popular, especially with young women. Malouma took great care in developing her approach. She incorporated traditional themes with the rich repertoire of popular music and its instrumentation. Her compositions often draw on the tradition of Arab poets like Antarah ibn Shahdad and Al- Mutanabbi, which have verses that cover political criticism, sacrifice, and support for the poor and oppressed. She also draws on traditional Mauritanian themes and modernizes both the lyrics as well as the musical presentation.

From the beginning, Malouma sang in a variety of languages, including traditional Arabic, Hassania (Mauritanian Arabic), French and Wolof. By singing in various languages, she sought to air her message to a broader audience. It was not long before she appeared on television together with her sister, Emienh, and her brother, Arafat, an instrumentalist. 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. Her participation in the Carthage event led to her subsequent appearance on Arab satellite channels, giving her greater exposure. Malouma became nationally known and was a sought after performer until a 1991 song about freedom of speech. After being censored for writing songs promoting women’s rights and challenging apartheid, she was banned from appearing on television and radio, holding concerts, and was even denied a permanent address. She did not perform anywhere for a lengthy period but in the late 1990s she began to sing in other African countries, in Europe, and in the United States. While she won audiences among the people, Malouma was persecuted by both the moral authorities and authoritarian governments, her music being completely banned until 2003 when a crowd of 10,000 successfully called on President Ould Taya to cancel her censorship. Some restrictions still remained until the overthrow of the Ould Taya regime in 2005.

Malouma, officially Malouma Meidah, first became politically active as a member of the opposition party in 1992, speaking out against dictatorships and in favor of democratization. In 2007, in what was widely considered the first freely held and fair election in the country, she was elected to the Senate of Mauritania, as one of the six women senators in a legislature of 56 members. She was the first person from the musician iggawen caste to serve in politics. Shortly after she was elected, a coup d’état took place in Mauritania in 2008 and deposed the first democratically elected head of state, Sidi Mohamed Ould Cheikh Abdallahi. Because she had written songs criticizing the coup, Malouma was arrested and over a thousand cassettes and CDs of her recordings were seized. After the coup, the leader, Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, allowed elections to proceed with only minor delays. He was elected president in July 2009 and the Senate elections in which one-third of the members faced re-election also were held. The parliamentary opposition group, called “Ech-Choura”, of which Malouma was a member and served as the First Secretary, constituted 12 members of the 56-member Senate after the 2009 election. She also served on the Parliamentary Group for the Environment and as 2nd Secretary of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Armed Forces.

Malouma started singing when she was a child. She performed her first performance on stage at the age of twelve. By age fifteen, Malouma had begun performing solo concerts using a traditional repertoire. She was also inspired by her father and other traditional artists like Oum Kalthoum (her father), Fairouz Hafez, Dimi, Fairouz, Dimi, and Sabah. As she grew up, blues music became more appealing to her, as it resembled the traditional music she was familiar with. Malouma’s first song was “Habibi Habeytou”, which she wrote when she was sixteen. It protested the custom of husbands leaving their wives to marry younger women. She was instantly recognized, but it triggered a backlash and physical attacks from the established Muslim community. Her family moved to Nouakchott to help her start her music career. However, Malouma was forced by the strong traditional society to marry and quit singing until the 1980s. Her father later accused her of ruining his reputation. She was not only criticised for her songs but also disgraced her family. Her first husband had been forced upon and her second from a noble family who wouldn’t allow her to sing. Her father said that she had created something new, and that he found it touching. Unfortunately, I won’t be around to protect you.

Malouma Net Worth

Malouma is one of the richest Politician from Mauritania. According to our analysis, Wikipedia, Forbes & Business Insider, Malouma 's net worth $5 Million. (Last Update: December 11, 2023)

Malouma Mint El Meidah, (Arabic pronunciation: [email protected]), also known as Maalouma, Malouma, or Malouma (/m a/U ma:/ ); was born October 1, 1960. She is a Mauritanian singer-songwriter, politician, and songwriter. She was 12 years old when she performed her first concert. Her parents were well-versed in traditional Mauritanian music and she soon began performing solo. “Habibi Habeytou”, her first song, harshly criticised the treatment of women by husbands. Although it was a huge success immediately, there was a lot of outrage from the traditional ruling class. Malouma was forced to marry her teenage self while she was still singing. She remained married until 1986. Her own style combined traditional music with blues and jazz, as well as electro, was developed. She was banned in Mauritania in 1990 for singing songs that addressed controversial topics like poverty, marriage, and inequality. However, she began performing abroad in the latter part of the decade. She relaunched her recording and singing career after the ban was lifted. This made her popular, especially among the younger generation. Knou (2014) is her fourth album. It contains lyrics that express her views on human rights, women’s status in society, and gender equality.

Malouma began her education in elementary school in Mederdra in 1965. In 1974, she was certified as an elementary school teacher. Her country’s traditions require that all members of the Meidah clan continue the tradition of their ancestors. She had to abandon her desire to teach as a result. Each caste is limited in their ability to marry members of the same caste. This means that the whole society is divided politically, economically and culturally. It is against the law to move outside of one caste. Her father taught her traditional Mauritanian music and she learned how to play the ardin Harp, which is the only instrument that women can play. She grew up listening and learning classical western music such as Beethoven, Chopin and Mozart. She was often with her parents, who sang traditional griots.

Music festival appearances have been a large part of Malouma’s career. The first time she participated in an international festival was in Carthage, Tunisia in 1988; her performance proved to be highly successful. 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. She was not only selected as “artiste de l’année” (artist of the year) but was nicknamed “Diva des Sables” (Diva of the Sands). Her success continued in October of the same year at the World Music Expo in Seville, Spain, where she was selected by the jury as a featured performer. One of the highlights of Angoulême’s Festival des Musiques Métisses was her nostalgic rendering of “Mreïmida”. The song proved equally popular in Mauritania at the 2004 Nouakchott Festival of Nomadic Music. She was finally permitted to take part after her ban had been lifted. She appeared there with another female Mauritanian star, Dimi Mint Abba, and was accompanied by the French pianist Jean-Philippe Rykiel on a synthesizer.

Height, Weight & Body Measurements

Malouma height Not available right now. Malouma weight Not Known & body measurements will update soon.

Who is Malouma Dating?

According to our records, Malouma is possibily single & has not been previously engaged. As of December 1, 2023, Malouma’s is not dating anyone.

Relationships Record : We have no records of past relationships for Malouma. You may help us to build the dating records for Malouma!

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. Eleven paintings resulted from the joint venture and Malouma and Yahia presented cultural discussions about their works titled “Regarder la musique, écouter la peinture?” (Watch the music, listen to the painting?) In 2013 a month-long exhibit was presented to showcase the paintings and the music which inspired them at a gallery in Nouakchott. In 2015, after receiving a grant from the Arab Culture Fund, Malouma convinced musicians to collaborate with artists when recording their music. The project aimed at collecting music from six artists and producing an album of their works. Malouma has continued to press for the establishment of a music school, though it would require overcoming taboos on family restrictions in regard to musical legacy.

Facts & Trivia

Malouma Ranked on the list of most popular Politician. Also ranked in the elit list of famous people born in Mauritania. Malouma celebrates birthday on October 1 of every year.

Malouma Mediah was involved in a project in 2009, to relocate 9,000 slum- dwelling families from the outskirts of the city into inner city neighborhoods. She insisted that for health reasons, improvements would first have to be made to the infrastructure. In August 2011, the International Union for Conservation of Nature appointed Malouma as Goodwill Ambassador for Central and West Africa. The position required her to raise awareness of environmental problems with a view to introducing sustainable solutions. On her appointment she commented: “I am delighted at the confidence that IUCN just placed in me. I am deeply honored. I will do my best to fulfill this great responsibility.” In September 2012, she performed in a concert given during the 2012 IUCN World Conservation Congress held on Jeju Island, South Korea.