Who is Zahra from Year of the Elephant: A Moroccan Woman's Journey Toward Independence, and Other Stories and what is their importance?

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.