THE GIRL WHO STOOD UP FOR EDUCATION and was shot by the Taliban
There are hundreds of reviews of this books spread across the internet, after all she is the girl 'who stood up for education'. At least that's how she wants to be known and she will because it is how she became known as the 'girl who was shot by Taliban'. I believe, however that there is no better reviewer for 'I Am Malala' than a girl of her own age. The irony of the situation is, I'm sure, not lost on anyone of you.
I Am Malala sends a shiver down your spine a reader as you turn page after page and read about tragedy after tragedy. Malala was born in Pakistan in 1997, where the birth of a girl child is no cause for celebration but she was celebrated. She was born to Ziauddin Yousafzai, the son of an imam, and of an illiterate mother in the Valley of Swat. Perhaps her father had known that his little girl would do great things not only when she was an 'adult' but much before. At the tender age of 15, she was mercilessly shot in the face by a Jihadi and not once but she was shot at thrice only the other two bullets missed her.
The story does not dwell on the shooting for long nor does it philosophize her thoughts yet it binds the reader with almost a hypnotic sort of power. The story is simple and follows her life from the moment she was born to the moment she opened her eyes in the hospital in Birmingham after extensive surgery yet the incidents slowly accumulate and make it difficult to imagine what people in Pakistan survive on a daily basis, especially girls.
Malala, herself, soon recieved death threats on a daily basis. Even on sites like Facebook and within the confines of her own home, she was not safe. She was a perceived threat to Taliban, an militant group, due to activism in support of education of girls. The book is a must read because it introduces the world to the reality through the eyes those who suffer.
If you want to know more, Malala spoke at the UN in celebration of her 16th birthday. Take a look!
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