Mary Boyoi worries that a victory in Sudan’s upcoming parliamentary elections would require her to start wearing more professional attire. “It’s too hot for those clothes,” she quips. This widely renowned professional musician & activist never dreamed of working in politics. “I always expressed my political feelings with my music,” she explains outside a restaurant in Juba, southern Sudan’s bustling capitol. Much of her music focuses on political issues, including her 2007-debut album, Referendum, a reference to southern Sudan’s upcoming independence referendum scheduled for 2011.

Here, she poses for campaign photos in a Juba photo studio.