I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban

Details of the Book

No. of Pages   : 327

ISBN               : 0316322407 (ISBN13: 9780316322409)

Language        : English

From the book blurb

I come from a country that was created at midnight. When I almost died it was just after midday.

When the Taliban took control of the Swat Valley in Pakistan, one girl spoke out. Malala Yousafzai refused to be silenced and fought for her right to an education.

On Tuesday, October 9, 2012, when she was fifteen, she almost paid the ultimate price. She was shot in the head at point-blank range while riding the bus home from school, and few expected her to survive.

Instead, Malala's miraculous recovery has taken her on an extraordinary journey from a remote valley in northern Pakistan to the halls of the United Nations in New York. At sixteen, she has become a global symbol of peaceful protest and the youngest-ever Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

I Am Malala is the remarkable tale of a family uprooted by global terrorism, of the fight for girls' education, of a father who, himself a school owner, championed and encouraged his daughter to write and attend school, and of brave parents who have a fierce love for their daughter in a society that prizes sons.

I Am Malala will make you believe in the power of one person's voice to inspire change in the world.

Author

Malala Yousafzai is a 16 years student from Swat, Pakistan. She is studying in 8th class. She wrote a diary for BBC in early 2009 with a different name "Gul Makai", she wrote about the critical situation in Swat at that time. She later on became famous and worked for children rights in Swat, Pakistan.

She was nominated for a children award by an international organization in 2011. She appeared on many national and international news channels, TV channels and newspapers. She is a brave girl and has the ability to speak out the truth. She struggled for children's Education in her region Swat. She struggled when the militants were fighting against Pakistan Army in Swat and was banning girls' school in Swat.

On 8th October 2012 she was attacked in Swat when coming back from school to home, and thus we created this blog to share love for her and share all the facts about Malala.

Malala is now living and studying in the United Kingdom, and she has started going to school.

What I think

“Often we take most of the things for granted. We fail to realize its importance and be thankful for what we have. In fact, we only complain about what we don’t have and never attempt to bring the change; be the change.” These were the resonating thoughts in my head when I was reading I am Malala.

As I read “I am Malala” I was shocked! She fought for education and was shot by Taliban not some centuries ago. It happened in 2012; around the same time when I had started my employment and thinking about further education. As Malala narrates her story, it is unbelievable. It is raw and its realism scares us. How can people do such things to fellow human beings?

We all know that independent thinkers and pathbreakers are always silenced. They have to struggle really hard to out their point across. Young Malala had only one dream and desire – to go to school; to study. She was like any ordinary girl whose life revolved around her parents, school and friends, until she was denied from the basic right (a dream for her) of education. When a person wants something badly, they start to fight for it. Malala did just that unknowingly that she was representing the dreams of several others too.

I hold this book very close to my heart. Malala, a little girl, fought in her way to achieve her dreams. But, it is her father, Ziauddin Yousafzai, who comes across as the hero of all the heroes. Children can have dreams. But, whether they are fulfilled or not completely lies in the hands of parents. If Malala is Malala, it is totally because of her father. If every girl, or any child for that matter, has a father like Malala had, the world would be a different place.

What I really loved about the book is its simplicity. The fears, dreams and aspirations of a child is well described. The narrative is so simple that it looks like a few pages taken straight from a child’s daily journal.

Read it…

It will surely teach you to be thankful!

Rating

3.5/5

Some words that stole my heart:

·         "We realize the importance of our voices only when we are silenced."

·         "When the whole world is silent, even one voice becomes powerful."

·         "Let us pick up our books and our pens,” I said. “They are our most powerful weapons. One child, one teacher, one book and one pen can change the world."

·         "Education is education. We should learn everything and then choose which path to follow." Education is neither Eastern nor Western, it is human."

·         "Our men think earning money and ordering around others is where power lies. They don't think power is in the hands of the woman who takes care of everyone all day long, and gives birth to their children."

·         "If one man can destroy everything, why can't one girl change it?"