Asmâa Hamzaoui and Bnat Timbouktou (the Timbuktu girls) represent a new generation of young Gnawa artists who are breaking new ground in a traditionally patriarchal world. Asmâa Hamzaoui learned the Gnawa musical tradition from her father, the famous musician Rachid Hamzaoui. She learned to play the gimbri (a three-stringed lute) from an early age, and later accompanied him at parties. In 2012, she founded the group Bnat Tombouctou, with whom she gradually won over audiences until she received an invitation to the Essaouira Gnaoua Festival in 2017 and thus made her breakthrough.

Their taboo-breaking performance earned them invitations to major festivals in Europe and the United States. Despite their worldwide success, Asmâa still meets resistance from some traditionalist Gnawas, to whom she replies curtly: “You can talk, but I’m here, working while you just talk.