Divorce in Year of the Elephant

The aim of my paper is to study divorce in Leila Abouzeid’s Year of the Elephant . I have chosen to discuss this topic because first I find it interesting and worth putting more efforts on so as to show its negative effects .Furthermore, I want to highlight how Muslims view it and most importantly how my countrymen see it, and how the writer puts it as a major issue in the novel.
Divorce has always been a controversial issue among people from different religious and cultural backgrounds. It is defined as the end of marital life of a certain couple. Its causes vary from one family to another. However, the most common one is that many men do not find “the angel in the house” they have always dreamt of; and the same thing goes for women, as the qualities of their “Prince Charming” simply did not fit the man they had. In addition, divorce is not about just a couple, it destroys the whole family that includes a couple and children who get deprived of the kindness of one of his or her parents. Therefore, they lose the happiness with normal life and grow up as orphans. Divorce is not just a simple decision between two people; it has always some impacts on a couple as well as on society, which is why it is viewed in religions as a negative thing to do unless it is the only solution left. In Christianity for instance, divorce is forbidden as they think that “marriages are made in heaven”. In Islam, it is the last way to fix a problem between a couple.
Divorce is unfair; divorce causes a lot of harm not only to the couple but to the children as well. We are obliged as human beings to sympathies with kids who were deprived of a natural familial status because, deep down, they will always grow up to feel a certain kind of lack. Nowadays, divorce is increasing among young couples. It was not common in the past as it is now. Divorce has become a popular solution for every problem, that can be solved by discussion and compromise .It shows that many couples do not work enough to make their relationship works.
In the past, women in Morocco were suffering from divorce, they were treated as objects and with no reason they found themselves out of the house. In Islam men have used and understood the Qur’an’s holy verses according to their own needs; consequently, this has resulted in injustice and deprivation of women’s rights. Luckily, many feminist writers have plucked the courage to put pen to paper and depict women’s suffering when marrying and after getting divorce, and the best example I can set is the talented authoress of the novel Year of the Elephant Leila Abouzeid. After years, a new family code in Morocco gives rights to women.
To deal with this issue, I divide my paper into two parts; in the first one, I analyse divorce in Islam and in Morocco. In the second, I discuss and analyze Leila Abouzeid’s Year of the Elephant and discuss divorce as a major theme and Zahra as a victim.

1) Divorce in Islam Divorce is a break of contract of Nikkah, an act of dissolving the bonds of matrimony between a particular husband and a wife. It is negative; nonetheless, it is allowed in Islam because after all, it is an absolute right which has to be granted under the supervision of a legal judge.
And when you divorce women and they have fulfilled their term, do not prevent them from remarrying their [former] husbands if they agree among themselves on an acceptable basis. That is instructed to whoever of you believes in Allah and the Last Day. That is better for you and purer, and Allah knows and you know not1 In Islam, divorce is like a safety valve. It is allowed only if the relationship between a man and a woman becomes unbearable and viewed as impossible. It is not even allowed if divorce does not make any difference. Our Prophet PBUH said “ Any woman who asks her husband a divorce with no good reason, the fragrance of paradise will be forbidden to her”2 That is to say, it is extremely forbidden to be the cause behind ruining a “home” just because he or she wished so. Divorce can be either verbal or written by the husband, and once made ,the divorced woman has to follow a religious procedure; this latter is called (Iddah) which states that she must not remarry in three months time. The husband in Islam cannot sign a divorce at once, but he should give notice for it where the marital relationship is still going on but not intimately. Furthermore, Islam encourages the husband and wife to resort to a family , in order to look for the reason of dissension between the couple and try to give a good solution for it, in addition to appoint arbitrators from the family from both sides makes them more open to express the real reasons for divorce.
And if you fear dissension between the two, send an arbitrator from his people and an arbitrator from her people. If they both desire reconciliation, Allah will cause it between them. Indeed, Allah is ever Knowing and Acquainted [with all things].3 Divorce is forbidden during the woman’s menstrual period. The husband should not divorce his wife unless she is “pure” (not menstruating) , and he should not have sexual intercourse with her; moreover if the husband divorced his wife while she is in menstrual periods and he did not know , the divorce would not count ,and they are considered married.
Sayyiduna Abdullah ibn Umar (Allah be pleased with him) relates that in the time of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH), he (Abdullah ibn Umar) divorced his wife while she was menstruating. [His father] Umar ibn al-Khattab (Allah be pleased with him) asked the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) about it. The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: “Command him to take her back. Then he should keep her until she becomes pure and then menstruates and becomes pure. Then, if he wishes, he can keep her, and if he wishes, he can divorce her before having sex with her. That is the prescribed period which Allah has fixed for the women to be divorced.”4 From this Hadith, we can see that getting divorce in the menstrual period is something unlawful because it sounds like the husband takes advantage of the wife, and during the waiting time many husbands could think of the consequences of divorce and maybe cancel it. Besides, women should stay at the same house all the waiting period (Iddah) and they can get back together if they want. As I mentioned before, as the husband initiates divorce, and because he is the “contract breaker”, he must pay the dowry and the money for all the waiting period, and the judge specifies how much the husband should pay. Some people will argue about the idea that men seem to have an absolute power in obtaining a divorce. The husband has the right to divorce, because the husband is more aware of its consequences. Women are thought to react emotionally and that could lead to a big problem if they have power to obtain a divorce. In the case divorce is initiated by the wife who is the (contract breaker), it is known as Al Khul . The wife can ask for it when she feels unsafe and it requires returning her dowry to end the marriage (if the husband is not at fault). Furthermore, the wife can make a formal request to the judge for divorce with causes to prove that her husband did not fulfill his responsibilities. Al khul is allowed only when the wife cannot live anymore with her husband. When woman hates her husband and cannot live with him any more due to his bad manners, or if he treats her improperly, or fails to provide her with necessary food and clothing, or if he does not fulfill his obligations according to their marriage contract, then she can free herself by giving back the dowry paid by her husband .
Ibn `Abbâs said: “The wife of Thâbit b.Qays came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and said: 'O Messenger of Allah, I do not dishonor his morals or his religion but I do not like any act of disbelief in Islam.' The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: 'Would you return to him his garden?' She said: 'Yes.' The Prophet (peace be upon him) then told Thâbit: 'Take over your garden”5 This woman is requested to be separated from her husband to avoid any failure in her duties towards him as she hated him. Therefore, when a woman becomes sure about getting divorce, the judge will order the husband to divorce her immediately, and the hadith shows that the husband’s approval is not necessary. According to the Islamic regulations, the husband and the wife should avoid divorce as much as they can. But if it happens in difficult situations, both spouses should abide by these regulations.
B-Divorce between past and present in Morocco: In the past in Morocco, women suffered a lot from divorce because men deprived them of their rights. It was so much easier for men to get a divorce without their wives’ consent; they simply used to throw words of rejection, as a result, they got away easily from wedlock. After Morocco gained its independence, the law of divorce in Morocco was based on the teachings of the Islamic Shariaa, but there have been some misinterpretations of the holy Qur’an. As a consequence, women experienced a terrible life after getting a divorce. They were treated poorly in a society where virginity played an important role, and this made divorced women rejected in a male dominant society and could not remarry easily. The situation has now been improved and some divorced women have finally found their place in the sun, thanks to their tremendous sense of dignity and powerful personality; things changed for the better, up till the foundation of the new family code. Divorce sometimes becomes the only way to solve the problem between the couple, but for most of women, it is considered as a beginning of a real nightmare in our society. In the past, many women did not have a choice as to who they would marry, and most of the time women did not even know the man before they wed. Most marriages were political arrangements. Husbands and wives were generally strangers until they first met after getting married. If love was involved at all, it came after the couple had been married; in addition women were treated more as objects. They had no rights in family. However, men were getting divorce with or without reasons. They were changing their wives whenever they had a new job or when the wife got old. It was like they were changing their old cars, and polygamy was permitted with or without the approval of the wife. I have known a woman who was a victim of male domination of our society. She was a friend of my mother. She worked very hard, in order to help her husband so they can buy a new house. The problem is that after she bought the house, he changed her for a younger woman and kicked her out of the house and divorced her. This is just one example of many women who suffered in the past and it shows how much easier for men to change their wives just because they are getting older. Moreover, divorce concerns both man and woman, but our society forgive the man and put all the blame on the divorced woman, who often has a hard time finding new relationships. Many divorced women are faced with the harsh reality of how the Moroccan society views them. Divorced women are often left with nowhere to go and do not have a source of income to cover their expenses.

Today things have changed. Now, both men and women have an equal authority in the family with the new family code. First of all, what is the family code (Moudawana)? The Moudawana came after Morocco gained independence in 1956. It appeared as a series of royal decrees between 1957 and 1958. It concerns issues related to the family. Under the old Moudawana men had all the rights in marriage. They could divorce their wives without warning and leaving many women out on the streets. In 2004 Morocco made a landmark reform to its family code (moudawana) . It brought the protection of women’s rights in family, equality between men and women, and to ensure children’s rights. Till now there are some illegal practices, such as continuation of early marriage as many parents force girls to get married before the legal age.

1. According to 1957-1958 Moudawana, divorce is presented in this way:

Men could verbally divorce their wives at any time, and their decision would be legally binding

2. But the 2004 Moudawana describes the issue of divorce : Divorce must be settled in court. Women now have the right to divorce their husbands as well – even on the basis of failure to observe any of the conditions in the marriage contract, or if he harmed his wife through lack of financial support, abstinence, violence, or any other wrongful deed

The new code places the family under the mutual responsibility of the husband and the wife. There is a saying, “ All families are alike, but every unhappy family has its own unique reason for being unhappy “, each couple has their unique reason for divorce. Divorce exists in different parts of the world and it is influenced by the differences of each culture. It has been observed that the divorce rates are higher in some places like Europe and America, where individual freedom is more important, than in Asian or African nations where the most important point is family and social opinion. In Morocco, divorced woman suffers a lot after getting divorce. It is always her fault for getting divorce, Moroccan society always blames the woman for divorce, because she could not save her marriage or discuss with her husband to solve the problem. One of the most important reasons that lead to divorce is social causes and it is about how couple treats each other using violence, disrespect to the problem of raising a child. The socialization of both men and women also play a major role in divorce. Men want their wives to be a copy of their mothers, while women prefer to have an independent personality. Divorce is not just a decision between two people, but it also has a strong impact on their family and society. After getting divorce, divorced woman in our society lives a miserable life. It will be difficult for her to find a new relation and everyone will look at her suspiciously and it is always her fault for getting divorce. In the past, women stayed at home and do housework, whereas men had to earn money. Because of this situation, men find it easy to throw their wives and it was difficult for most of women to leave their husbands. Now, this situation is different. Today women can work outside the house to earn money. Women in the present are more educated and economically independent; they earn money and support their families though society still undermines the divorced woman.

1) The impact of divorce on the protagonist:

In the past in Morocco, divorced women were often left with nowhere to go and did not have any source of income to cover their needs. Leila Abouzeid’s novel, Year of the Elephant deals with the issue of the old family code in Morocco. The writer shows the dark place of our society for women. She made everyone feels the miserable life of women who get divorce and find themselves out in the street. The novel shows a journey of a woman who suffered from a painful loss of place when her husband tells her that their marriage is over.

I come back to my hometown, feeling shattered and helpless…. I come back to my hometown, feeling shattered and helpless. He had simply sat down and said, ‘Your papers will be sent to you along with whatever the law provides.’ My papers? How worthless a woman is if she can be returned with a receipt like some store bought object! How utterly worthless 1

This shows how vulnerable women are; men can simply divorce women at any time they please. They just throw women outside and treat them as objects. In our religion, a man should give a warning to his wife for divorce, and she can stay in the house for three months. Unfortunately, during the past, our society did not have something like that. The husband had the right simply to inform the court that he wants to divorce his wife, and the court will send divorce papers to the wife, without thinking of how much cruel this decision is on women. For Zahra, the unfair treatment of her husband was a real shock, when she suddenly found herself in the street with the intense fear waiting for the divorce papers. Ironically, she got divorced because she was traditional "I don't eat with a fork. I don't speak French. I don't sit with men. I don't go out to fancy dinners" 2 Zahra could not resist the idea that it was her turn to be thrown away by her husband after they got rid of the colonials. She left without gratitude and without means of living after getting divorce. Fortunately, Zahra does have a small room in her old town that was left by her late father. This is where she felt alone after getting divorce. Zahra started to fight for her independence and survival in the society that is dominated by men. Zahra asks: “I, too, entered the struggle and carried out missions for my homeland. But now what does my homeland do for me”3 Zahra hardly seeks a way to exist in a space where she no longer has a defined role. She is no longer a resistance fighter and she is no longer a wife. Zahra is just an example of many women who suffered from the same thing in the past. The male domination in our society is the cause of her suffering not religion, she finds her comfort with the poor, wise sheikh of her village, who helped her to find relief in the spiritual and forget her predicament.

2) The psychological effect on the woman:

The early stages of divorce are more difficult for women, because they start feeling the pressure and psychological devastation. At certain moments, divorced women blame themselves for divorce and it usually leads to depression “I despise everyone, including myself”4 Zahra said. After a time, women start to adapt with the emotional changes, and realize that marriage no longer makes them happy. Zahra felt humiliated after the way her ex-husband treated her and the way he divorced her. Before divorce, early marriage has a big impact on Zahra, when her family forced her to marry a man she never saw before, and that made her feel as an object.

No doubt every woman dreams to choose her prince charming. However, Zahra’s marriage is associated with the family’s pressure engagement. Her family made Zahra to marry a man, who she did not know, as Zahra said that she got married without her permission “the family decided to marry me off without even asking for my thoughts.”5 This early marriage made her feel humiliated, in addition she was treated as an object more than a human being. This awful treatment from her family was the first step to her depression that she got after divorce. After this unhappy beginning for Zahra, another devastating incident happened. She fought with her husband for independence, but as soon as he got a new job, he did not hesitate to throw her to street and divorce her. This divorce totally killed her mentally. She is again treated as an object “How worthless a woman is if she can be returned with a receipt like some store bought object! How utterly worthless”6. She found herself in the street with the only single room and small money from her husband only for a hundred days “whatever the law provides”7. Zahra was lost in a society, who has acquired a negative connotation with divorce. “For our people divorce is a catastrophe and absolute disaster”8 Zahra said. This obviously shows how much Zahra suffered from divorce. She is also left without gratitude for her sacrifice. However, this suffering did not last forever; she found her comfort with a sheikh that guides Zahra to have a new life.

Marriage sometimes is not destined to last forever. Sadly, divorce has to make an appearance; as a result its rate increases, not particularly in our society but as long as human beings are concerned, divorce always jeopardise every relationship between a man and a woman and its rate is particularly high among the young couple. There is a saying “Being young at time of marriage is one of the primary predictors of divorce”. Today, when people enter into marriages they think of divorce as a first solution for every problem they have. There are many reasons why families get divorce, and each family has a different reason. In Year of the Elephant, Leila Abouzeid delineates the sufferings and predicaments of divorced woman. The writer shows the sacrifice of the protagonist side to side with her husband in their fight against colonialism. She also shows the predicaments of the protagonist in an independent Morocco and how divorce reduces and weakens woman in a patriarchal social.

Note:
Part I:
1: Surat Al-Baqarah’(2:231) 2: Nrrated by Abu Dawood (2226) and al-Tirmidhi (1187); classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in saheeh abi Dawood. 3: Surat An-Nisa’(4:35) 4: Sahih al-Bukhari no: 4953 5: Sunan Abu-Dawud no: 2220

Part II:
1: Leila Abouzeid, Year of the Elephant, , p.1
2: .Ibid.,p8
3: .Ibid.,p24
4: Ibid.,p9
5:Ibid.,p16
6:Ibid.,p1
7:Ibid.,p1
8:Ibid.,p6

Appendix

“Women’s Social Citizenship:”
Earning and Caring The chapter about “women’s Social Citizenship”, deals with the role of women as actors on the political stage of welfare state that gives ways of independence for some of them. Moreover, welfare state considers is as a good place for women to feel equal to men. It does also give an important space to express women’s citizenship. For a long time, women struggle for their rights and as campaigners they are making a good progress in that. They have made to develop a welfare state so they can express their political citizenship. The other idea is that they have made a huge success but they still need a political power to express their opinions. Despite the fact that they stood up against everyone, they could do nothing to stop their successful in all over the world. In general there are historians feminist who believe in the importance of their agency