I Am Malala

Going into reading this, I thought that I knew Malala’s story and that I would be reading about how her experience with the Taliban made her who she is today. I thought that the fact that Malala was a girl who was shot by the Taliban is what she was known for. I was surprised to learn that this was not the case. She was speaking out for the rights of everyone to receive an education before she was shot, and was one of the reasons that the Taliban targeted her. Malala father believed that everyone deserved an education, and even opened a school to help achieve this. Boys and girls were educated here.

We hear about the history of Pakistan and in particular, the area where Malala grew up, in Swat. This area is constantly struggling, and poverty is high. Malala describes how the Taliban rose to power and the Pakistani governments response to what was happening in the area. It was an interesting read to hear about the history of this area and to see what she thought about what was happening at the time.  Malala also talks about her life growing up and some of her experiences.

I admire Malala for standing up for what she believed in, even when it would be hard to stand up for ones beliefs. Malala was under threat for what she was talking about and had to live in fear for doing something that others take for granted, receiving an education.

The one thing that I struggled with was keep straight who was who when she talked about the leaders at the time, because of the unfamiliar names and how they were often similar.