Zainab Nafzaouia

A long time ago, there was a courageous Moroccan woman who declared clearly, "I would only marry
someone who would rule over the whole Maghreb." Who would have expected that this Moroccan
Berber lady would be in the highest levels of power?

Some people accused her of infidelity since she was famous as the wife of the princes, having married
three princes, the fourth of whom was Yusuf bin Tashfin, the prince of the Muslims and the Almoravid
empire's expansion. Furthermore, they accused her of witchcraft and sorcery since she was renowned
for her passion for herbs and roses and how to employ them in the study of biomedicine and the
utilization of medicinal plants. Besides, they regarded Zainab al-Nafzaouia as arrogant and pretentious
when she refused everyone who proposed to her and declared that she would only marry the man who
will govern all the Moroccan territory.

Nevertheless, I strongly believe that Zainab Nafzaouia is one of the greatest leaders, because she has
superior political skills, she is wise and generous. She was highly influential in the process of decision-
making, especially in public affairs and supported financially the army of “Abid al Bukhari”, which
qualified her to become an expert and safety advisor and designs the old part of Marrakech city.

Despite numerous rumors and gossip, Zainab Nafzaouia was praised for her matchless beauty as well as
her skills in governance matters, and her wisdom.