Feminism is a major theme in the story. Year of the Elephant can be read as a feminist text. Throughout the text, there was clear outrage over the treatment of divorced Moroccan women. Not only was divorce a cultural stigma—and Zahra was ostracized by local gossip because of her divorce—but divorce was also financially devastating. The root of divorce's impact was traced to education. Moroccan women, particularly peasant women, did not have the education necessary to make a decent living after their marriage was severed. The marital system was oppressive precisely because it created such dependence in women. In the story, Zahra attempted to change things by creating a women's literacy group, and in fact she learned to read and write through this group. It is clear that author Abouzeid supported increased education as a way to empower women in the developing world.
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