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

 

 

The Taliban should've contacted Barbara Streisand before they decided to "utterly fail" in their attempt to kill a young schoolgirl. In their hatred and bigoted world view, their tunnel vision resulted in drawing more attention to the battle cry of a truly brave young woman rather than her dying in ignominy. How does this relate to Barbara Streisand? Many years ago she sued several news and tabloid companies for displaying pictures of her home along the shores of California. Rather than giving her the privacy she wanted, it drew more and more attention to it as people scrambled to see what her fuss was about. So too did the Taliban when they failed in their mission to silence Malala that horrible day in the Swat Valley; rather than eliminate someone who they believed besmirched her family's honor, they turned her battle cry into the voices of millions who suddenly became aware of what was happening in their little valley.

Malala may have been struck down, but she arose stronger than before. In a perverse way you could almost say that the Taliban, through their ignorant hatred, empowered Malala more than ever. Her book, I Am Malala, is indicative of their "success". Now living in Birmingham, England, Malala has recovered from her horrible wound and is now nominated for a Nobel Prize. She is attending school and has traveled the world, most recently giving a speech at Harvard University, spreading her message of the importance of educating girls and women, regardless of their faith. Her strength is clear in not only her actions, but in the words she uses to tell her story.

Her Journey

I Am Malala begins with Malala reminiscing about her homeland, Pakistan, and her love of her country. As the pictures show in the description of the book's content, the Swat Valley is a beautiful place, as she describes it, with "high snow-topped mountains, green waving fields and fresh blue rivers". Soon, however, the pastoral beauty of her home is replaced by the horror of what happened to her on October 9, 2012. A year ago yesterday, a shot heard around the world was fired at Malala from point-blank range at her head. The Taliban, in their belief that women should not be educated, sought to silence Malala for her unforgivable crime of speaking out against that belief.

Malala Yousafzai knew the risks, and yet she persevered and stood her ground. Her father opened the school where she studied and raised her to revere knowledge. Her pride in the school, her family, and her education lead to her suffering from near-fatal wounds, and in a completely unforeseen manner Malala was given the ability to bring attention to not only her plight, but to draw the world's attention to the Taliban's repulsive "rule" in her homeland.

Malala's writing is punctuated with beautiful descriptions of her homeland, her amazement at the modern conveniences of England, and her heartbreak at knowing that she cannot sit next to her friend, Moniba, and joke in class as she had before the Taliban's gunman changed her life forever. From the moment that I picked up I Am Malala, I was hooked; the narrative is written so eloquently that you will find yourself eagerly devouring each page to learn about how she was able to endure her injuries, to her first impressions of Birmingham, how she feels about her new school in England, and finally how international fame has helped her to work toward her ultimate goal: eliminating the fear that girls in the Swat Valley have when they travel to and from school. Never at any point did I lose interest in her words. It is my belief that anyone who picks up this book will feel the same way.

Final Say

I Am Malala, quite simply, should be required reading for every high school student in the world. Too often do we who were blessed to grow up in a country with guaranteed educations for all children, regardless of gender or race or even religious beliefs, fail to realize just how much of a privilege that right truly is. This book helped to humble me quite substantially; I realize that I did take for granted my right to an education, and I never really saw that graduating from high school and the chance to go to college is much more special than most realize. Prior to the horrible injury that was inflicted upon her, Malala was speaking out to educate the girls of Pakistan and the world, knowing that she was in danger the whole time. Her chances of going to college may have been diminished because of her place of birth, but she was determined to learn as much as she could. Now that she is in a free country she is able to anticipate not just a primary education, but the dream of attending college and obtaining a degree.

Succinctly put: buy this book. It will be a humbling, yet inspirational title for your collection, one that you can proudly display on your shelf. I guarantee that you will be drawn in, and maybe learn something, to boot!

 

BY

 

Stacy