Who is 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.