Al Khadra Mabrook

Al Khadra was born circa 1938 in Tiris.[1] Her family were Bedouin and her childhood was spent moving through the region so her family could find grazing for their animals.[1] She learnt poetry from a young age by listening to others perform.[1]

The first poetry she learnt celebrated female beauty, but after the movement for self-determination from Spain started in the 1970s, her poetry changed to become socially conscious and celebrate the military achievements of the Polisario.[2] Al Khadra is one of several poets, whose work has become a vital part of cultural resistance for the Sahrawi people.[3][4] She is the only female Sahrawi poet to have documented the Western Sahara War from 1976 to 1991.[5] Subjects of her poems include the Moroccan Western Sahara Wall, also known as the Berm; the Polisario's first tank; the refutation of 'Moroccanisation' of her homeland; and providing fuel for 'revolution'.[3]

In 1975, she was forced to move to the Tindouf refugee camps by the Moroccan army.[2] In 2012 she was living in the El Aaiún refugee camp.[6]

Al Khadra's granddaughter is the singer Aziza Brahim, who has performed poetry by her grandmother worldwide.[7] The album Mabruk is dedicated to Al Khadra and records her work with backing by electric guitars and drums.[5]

In 2012, Al Khadra was the subject of a documentary film entitled Al Khadra: Poet of the Desert, screened at the Africa in Motion Film Festival that year.[8]

• Al Khadra: Poet of the Desert Artscape – Poets of Protest