Running head: I AM MALALA: THE GIRL WHO STOOD UP FOR EDUCATION

I am Malala: The girl who stood up for education and was shot by the Taliban
Shelann Clapp
UMHB
Diversity and Learning
7303-01

July 08, 2016

I Am Malala: The girl who stood up for education and was shot by the Taliban.

I am Malala is a book about a young girl living in Pakistan, Swat Valley whose mother
was illiterate. She grew up in her fathers school, and she was shot by the Taliban. She is the
oldest of three children and she is the only girl. She did not adhere to established norms
especially the norm that girls should not go to school. She believed every girl had a right to an
education and she fought for that right among others. Although, Malalas mother is uneducated;
her father is attach for Pakistan consulate and adviser for global education for the UN. Malala
was out front advocating for the rights of girls even in the midst of threats to her family and
herself. Eventually war came to her valley. Some of the major themes in the book are the

Running head: I AM MALALA: THE GIRL WHO STOOD UP FOR EDUCATION

struggle between individual and society, change, relationships, decision-making, perspective,

faith and resources both real and untapped. Malala did not like wearing the tradition clothing
worn by (Yousafzai & Lamb, 2013) other girls in her village although she loved her village.
Malala wants to live her life free of war, the Taliban, and rules about girls and education. Malala
was determined that she was going to get an education and her father supported her. Another
theme in the book was that Malalas desire to please her father was greater than her fear of the
Taliban. She was smart, very competitive and often she would be first in her class. She loved
competing with the other girls in her class to see who could get the highest grades. Malala
experienced the normal struggles of growing up. She felt that she was too short and that her skin
was not fair enough.
Malala was an ordinary girl who had extraordinary ideas. She often fought with her
brother, Khushal for various reasons as siblings do. She would spend hours fixing her hair like
the ones in the magazine. She was very competitive. She would literally cry when she lost a
competition.
People admired Malala for her tenacity because she is willing to fight for her ideas and rights.
She was born into poverty but poverty did not define her. Malala was able to rise above her
circumstances and believe that the voice of one could change ones circumstance. She believed in
the power of an education. Her mother helped her in in this regard. Her mother had started
school at the age of six and ended school at the same age. It was only when she met her husband
that she feels regret for dropping out of school. As a result, she could not read the poems that
Mr. Yousafzai wrote. He was a man who read many book, wrote poems and planned to one day
have his own school. Because his wife was uneducated, she was not able to help him. Malalas
father believes there was nothing more important than an education. Education had been a great

Running head: I AM MALALA: THE GIRL WHO STOOD UP FOR EDUCATION

gift for him. He believed that lack of education was the root of all of Pakistans problems
(Yousafzai, 2013).
When war came to Malalas village, life changed although most of her life her village was
under many dictators. Hard-line Jihadists came into their village, terrorized the valley and
radicalized boys. The Taliban closed more than 400 schools and came to Malalas house to
intimidate Mr. Yousafzai to close his school. Mr. Yousafzai had strong convictions about
education and justice that he was not intimidated. The Talibans raids started as harsh language
and progressed to killings and displaying severed heads along roadsides. It really took courage
to continue to advocate for education for girls in the midst of the violence of the Taliban.
Malalas advocacy for education shows that she understands the important of an education.
One of the ways to end global poverty is to educate everyone. The idea of educating everyone
advocated by an eleven year old is amazing in itself. Educating girls benefits not only the girls
but, society and the world as a whole. It is clear that poverty is plentiful in societies where girls
are not educated. Malalas advocacy for education for girls has global implications for girls
everywhere. Malala almost lost her life fighting for her cause. Her parents made a decisionmaking to be transport to a hospital that could provide the appropriate treatment. It was a
decision that saved her life.
It is difficult to review the book without giving credit to the tremendous impact the Malalas
father had on her. Mr. Yousafzai went to great lengths to open his school from borrowing money
to staying up late at night cooking and bagging popcorn. He was involved with school politics
and shared his views on many of the current events of the day. Salman Rushdie wrote the
Satanic Verses, a parody of the life of the Prophet. Many considered the book blasphemous and
provoked much outrage. Malalas father saw the book as offensive to Islam. He suggested,

Running head: I AM MALALA: THE GIRL WHO STOOD UP FOR EDUCATION

First, lets read the book and then why not respond with our own book. Is Islam such a weak
religion that it cannot tolerate a book written against it? Not my Islam! (Yousafzai, 2013, p. 46).
This quote gives insight into Ziouddin Yousafzais thinking and shows that he was well
grounded. Mr. Yousafzai also valued the opinion of his wife; unlike many of the men who did
not value the opinions of their wives. He could not live without his wife and consulted her on
important decisions. Pekai, help me resolve my confusion on this, he would say (Yousafzai,
2013).
Yousafzai believes in honesty and justice and refuses to pay bribes so that he could get a
permit to run his school. He later forms a group and becomes its president so that he could fight
for the rights of private schools. Malala was caught stealing and she knew that she had failed
him, it made her sad. He comforts her by telling her Freedom is not worth having if it does not
include the freedom to make mistakes (Yousafzai, 2013)

Running head: I AM MALALA: THE GIRL WHO STOOD UP FOR EDUCATION

References
Yousafzai, M., & Lamb, C. (2013). I am Malala: The girl who stood up for education and was
shot by the Taliban. New York Boston London: Little, Brown and Company.