Majuja

Khadija, or Majuja as they would later call her, was barren. Married young in Algeria, her husband decided to divorce her as he was frustrated that she couldn’t become pregnant. It must’ve been her.

Divorce was rare in those days, the 40s and 50s, especially in Algeria, but it was not forbidden in Islam as it would be a sin in Catholicism. It was simply frowned upon.

The young Majuja, newly divorced, moved back in with her parents. Not long after she had done so that one of her father’s friends who lived in Morocco at the time became a widower. He was in his 70s, and had six children of his own. Majuja’s father saw this as the perfect opportunity for her to get married again, and since she was barren, the new husband wouldn’t have to worry about adding to his family of already six grown children.

Majuja accepted the arranged marriage, and moved to Ahfir, Morocco, five minutes away from the Morocco-Algeria border. She was but in her 20s and her new husband was in his 70s, but they fell in love soon after.

Not long after she married him, she found out she was pregnant. It wasn’t Majuja that was barren after all! Her ex-husband must’ve been the one who was sterile. Six children would soon follow: Cherifa, Fatiha, Hafida, Malika, Moustafa, and Abdel Kader. Four girls and two boys.

Majuja and her husband Ahmed created a loving home for the children, and Majuja, as her kids would call her, was quite content. However, there came the day when Ahmed fell ill, and in his old age, he wouldn’t recover. Her eldest child was fifteen at the time.

The house they lived in had an open courtyard in the center, with access to all the rooms from the courtyard. Ahmed’s study and room was next to the kitchen. After he passed, Majuja couldn’t bring herself to walk past his room. She cried for months.

I never got to meet Majuja, but my husband, Hafida’s son, grew up knowing her. Hafida would tell me she was the sweetest woman ever, and loved her husband so much, and talked of him often after he died. I found it incredible how a marriage that might not have happened save for her mistaken barrenness led to a lifelong love and a family of six children. Majuja never remarried thereafter, for she would always love Ahmed, and she did until the day she died.