Malala Yousafzai is an extraordinary young lady — brave, intelligent, well-spoken and determined to provide the basic human right of education to as many people as possible. She also likes to read the Twilight books and do her hair. I am Malala does an incredible job of introducing not just the activist Malala, but the real person as well.
“Education is education. We should learn everything and then choose which path to follow.” Education is neither Eastern nor Western, it is human.”
Yes, Malala is the girl who was shot by the Taliban for daring to attend school. But before that terrible incident occurred, she (and her family — her father in particular) had been making waves in their region of Pakistan (called Swat) for insisting that everyone get a chance at an education. Her father had always dreamed of opening a school, and in doing so makes a lot of people very, very angry. Malala stands by him, and he stands by her, insisting that Malala can do anything that a boy could do.
In addition to Malala’s own life story, she gives us background on her family, and on the region in which they live. I found it all very interesting, and while she occasionally comes across a little childish, that’s pretty understandable considering that she IS a child. But overall I found the writing style — like she’s talking directly to you — very enjoyable.
Ah, this sounds cool. I haven’t read a ‘real-life hero’ story in a while. Might have to fix that!