I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai

The autobiography I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai begins with the scene of young pakistani education and women’s rights activist Malala being shot in the head. Her school bus had been stopped by the Taliban who, after asking which of the girls was Malala, put a bullet into her head. Malala ends the powerful prologue with the words “Who is Malala? I am Malala and this is my story” (9). Malala then rewinds to the story of her birth and how in Pakistan, no one congratulated her parents when she was born because she was a girl. Pakistani culture pushes for the birth of a boy as an islamic majority country. However, her father saw the potential in his daughter as a great leaser and named her after one of the great female leaders in Pakistan- Malalai of Maiwand who inspired the Afghan people, who were losing hope, to spur the army to victory against the British/Indian forces. Malala describes life in Mingora, Swat Valley, Pakistan. She outlines the Indian- Pakistan revolution and the shift of the Pashtun people into the Swat Valley. Malala’s father grew up in Shahpur but struggled to get his education in the town where he met Malala’s mother. They married and his dream of building a school, Khushal Public School, became reality when they moved into Mingora.

Soon after, Malala was born and a favorite of her father’s. He taught her the value of education and how he had to struggle and claw his way to get a decent education. He preached that every person should have the right to go to school and be educated. Malala’s father, Ziauddin Yousafzai, is a very influential person in the village and a great role model as Malala grew up. He participated in Anti-Taliban organizations and constantly preached for peace, educational rights and for th...

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...ry about fighting for human rights but talks about a culture very different than our own. One of the aspects I like about the book is how Malala explains everything in an uncomplicated way which is much easier to understand than the scholars who write about Pakistan. They try to stay “neutral” which destroys the empathy for the international community and sound too smart for the majority to understand. Furthermore, I am Malala is a lovely book that convincingly tells the story of “the girl who stood up for education and was shot by the Taliban”. Coherent, compelling, and important; the book reached the hearts of millions of reader to depict an accurate understanding of the unstable situations around the world.

Bibliography

Yousafzai, Malala, and Christina Lamb. I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood up for Education and

Was Shot by the Taliban. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.