Brazil: all-female sambistas tackle sexism of male-dominated genre

Groups such as Samba Que Elas Querem, whose rewrite of a samba classic prompted a legal tussle, are taking on the patriarchy

It was a typical Friday night at the Beco do Rato, a samba club tucked down a dark alleyway in Rio de Janeiro's nocturnal Lapa district. A group of musicians beat their tantas, tambourines and agogo bells to an audience of sweaty samba lovers who sang along.

Yet something about this scene was different: the band's nine musicians were all women, and the crowd was also overwhelmingly female.