Zahra

Zahra was the protagonist and narrator of Year of the Elephant. According to author Leila Abouzeid, she was a real-life person, and the events portrayed were true. Zahra was born into a peasant community dependent on orchard farming. Early on, Zahra was essentially abandoned by her mother and father, and left to be raised by her grandmother and grandfather. Zahra had a pleasant, carefree childhood, and she contrasts this with her difficult adulthood.

As a young woman, she was chosen by Mohammed for marriage, and she had no say in the matter. As a wife, she was cloistered and controlled, and expected to bear many children for her husband. The couple was unable to bear children, and they moved to Casablanca.

Zahra loved Casablanca for its energy and cosmopolitan nature. Along with her husband, Zahra became involved in the Moroccan independence movement, and she helped to smuggle information...