ABSTRACT
Zayd and Aaleyah's union was not a love story but it grew to be a partnership that created some stability and structure in their lives. When after 20 years of marriage Zayd suddenly died, Aaleyah sank into deep depression and developed an addiction to prescription painkiller. Unable to cope with day-to-day affairs, she moved back in with her parents and started weekly psychotherapy. Aaleyah revealed she grew up in a strict hierarchical and patriarchal community that placed great emphasis on obedience, reputation and social status. She recalled that in her teenage years she dreamt of following in the footsteps of her idol, the French designer Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel. Early social programming, parental expectations and rigid gender paradigms progressively crystallised into rigid patterns of thoughts, beliefs and actions that shielded her from a clear view of herself and the world.
