MARIAM DOUMBIA, 50, a singer, records with her husband, Amadou Bagayoko, as Amadou & Mariam. They are blind, and live in Paris and Bamako, Mali. Their new album, Welcome to Mali, is out next week on Because Music

* My mother had 10 children and I was the fifth, but everyone loved me. I was the only blind one.

* My father was quite wealthy because he was a teacher, so he would buy me everything I wanted: nail varnish, fragrances, luxury soap. All my friends would come and share them. They called me “Madame La Coquette”.

* Being blind made me organised as a child. I knew where everything was in my wardrobe, and I knew when my sisters had been stealing my clothes, even if they put them back in the same place. I could tell by the smell.

* Tolerance is what makes a marriage work. It’s important that you don’t both get angry at the same time. If one of you gets angry, the other should stay calm, so that afterwards you can sort things out.

* Money is important to me, but humanity more so. If you haven’t got people you love around you, money is no use.

* Europeans often think there is only poverty in Africa, but there is also solidarity and a sense of joy and celebration.

* When Amadou and I got married, our families thought it would be too difficult for us to live alone together as a blind couple. In the end, Amadou’s parents came to live with us, so it all worked out.

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