In the novel I am Malala: The Girl Who Stood up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban, Malala Yousafzai tells the story of how the Taliban slowly began to take over her small valley, Swat, in Pakistan. The story begins with Malala recalling where she was and what was happening before she was shot by the Taliban. Malala then restarts the novel, beginning with the day she was born. Her grandfather was very disappointed that she was not a boy so he was unwilling to provide a large celebration for her. Later on, her two brothers, Atal and Khushal, were born and Malala’s grandfather, Rohul Amin, wanted to throw celebrations for her two new brothers, but her father refused to have a big celebration for them because he did not have a celebration as large for Malala. This shows that her father treats her as an equal in a society that values men over women.
For her entire life, Malala was taught by her father, Ziauddin, to speak up for what she believed in and to fight for her rights. Her father started his own school for girls with his good friend who he met in college, Hidayatullah. This was considered very risky because the Taliban did not like young women being educated. However, Malala still attended school along with a handful of other children. She was ranked at the top of her class, and she also had some friends, Malka e-Noor and Moniba, whom were ranked second and third in the class. Along with this, her father also encouraged her to publicly speak in competitions. She became one of the best speakers for her age. Malala’s family was very kind and sociable. Her mother, Tor Pekai, would make breakfast before school for the children who would, otherwise, not get a meal.
After September 11 occurred, Malala’s valley became very violent and the Taliban emerged and started to enforce strict rules. They would target and kill people who were not following the strict rules they created that mainly targeted women. About six years after the Taliban became powerful, they assassinated the first female prime minister, Benazir Bhutto, who was a very influential person for Malala. The Taliban continued to grow increasingly violent and began to blow up schools. Around this time, Malala starts to write journal entries for BBC under an alias so that the world can read about life in Pakistan. Her diary entries become very popular.
The Taliban started a war with the Pakistani government forcing Malala and her family to move to Islamabad where they stayed for three months before moving back to their valley. Malala continued to gain a platform and used it to speak out against the Taliban. She started receiving threats from the Taliban claiming that they would kill her if she continued to speak out against them. However, Malala continued in fear until she got shot on her school bus. She was sent to a military hospital where she received a brain surgery. She recovered slightly before she was moved to a another hospital due to the fact that the Pakistan hospital did not have the resources needed to fully help Malala recover.
Eventually, Malala is flown to a hospital in England alone. She became far more famous after her shooting and uses that platform to advocate for women’s education. Her family finally traveled over to England where Malala attends school and they live happily. Malala has not forgotten where she came from and she still thinks about her friends back home and hopes to one day see them again. She is an inspiration to young girls around the world.
