Malika Ziyoeva was born in 1956 in the Ferghana area and is one of the most famous dutar players in Uzbekistan. She graduated from the Tashkent State Conservatory under the guidance of the veteran professor Fahriddin Sadyqov (also spelled Faxriddin Sodiqov). Since 1991, she has been teaching at the Tashkent State Conservatory; in 1993 she founded the first female dutar ensemble in the known history of Uzbekistan. Dutar was traditionally the only instrument women were allowed to play in Central Asia, particularly in Ferghana Valley. As its repertoire becomes more flexible in performance, Malika Ziyoeva has converted this female solo tradition into an ensemble practice. She also plays in the Shavkat Mirzaev Ensemble. <a href="https://www.last.fm/music/Malika+Ziyoeva">Read more on Last.fm</a>. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.