Malala Yousafzai

Malala Yousafzai ( (Kiana Averill))

The book I read is called, I Am Malala. I chose this book because I really liked that Malala stood up for the education of young girls, that she fought for them and that she put her life in danger for others. I Am Malala is an autobiography with the help of Patricia McCormick. My book is 230 pages long. I think the time span is about 5 years but it is hard to tell because she is always talking about different times at different places in the book. The first copy of this book was published in August 2014. Patricia McCormick was the author who helped Malala write this book. She is an American journalist and writer of realistic fiction for young adults. She has twice been a finalist for the National Book Award. She graduated from Rosemont College in 1974-1978.

Portrait of Malala Yousafzai ( (Kiana Averill))

Malala Yousafzai was born on July 12, 1997, in Mingora, Pakistan. For the first few years of her life, her hometown remained a popular tourist spot that was known for its summer festivals. However, the area began to change as the Taliban tried to take control. Malala grew up with two younger brothers and a mother and father. Her father's name is Ziauddin Yousafzai, her mother's name is Tor Pekai Yousafzai. Her two brothers' names are Atal and Khushal Yousafzai. Malala went to school at Khushal Public School. Her father ran the school. Malala said that when she wasn't at school, she liked to play outdoor games with the younger kids in her neighborhood. That all came to a stop when the Taliban took over. When she was younger, she wanted to be a doctor, but her father knew that she would end up in politics. When her younger brothers had gone to bed, she and her father would stay up talking about politics. As a girl, Malala was inspired by Benazir Bhutto. Benazir Bhutto was the first female prime minister of Pakistan. She was killed by the Taliban while she was making a speech. Malala watched it happen. Benazir stood on the seat of her bulletproof vehicle to wave to her supporters. There was a crack of gunfire and Malala watched Benazir Bhutto sink down into her vehicle. She says that everyone around her bursted into tears. She was the first woman the Taliban had killed. The killing of women is prohibited by the Pashtunwali code. Everyone was shocked. At the time, Malala dreamed for the world to be in peace because she heard about the terrible things that were happening in Afghanistan. The one thing that pushed Malala into being a women's rights activist is that she heard that in Afghanistan, girls were not allowed to go to school and learn. She also didn't know why girls in Afghanistan had to cover their faces and only leave room for their eyes. She thought it was weird because the Taliban cover their faces because they are criminals, and these women had done nothing wrong so why do they have to cover their faces.

Malala Yousafzai speaking ( (Kiana Averill))

One of the biggest challenges in Malala's later life was the Taliban. When she started speaking out for girls rights, the Taliban started sending threats, not directly to her but they were starting to warn her. Later she started receiving threats directly to her. Malala was very brave and thought that they were just bluffing to make her scared. She wasn't scared. That made her want to speak out more. Everyone was helping her from all over the world. She soon became a secret journaler for BBC and BBC would publish her letters in the news papers. BBC was a big help for Malala. It made her stronger and she wanted to continue. One of the qualities that Malala had that helped her through all of this is bravery. She didn't stop when the Taliban started to threaten her. She is also very proud. Malala never let "being a girl" get in the way of anything. Her biggest quality is resiliency. She is still helping people after she got shot. One of her weaknesses is that she doesn't like fighting. Malala hated it when people were fighting and sending out gunshots in her neighborhood. The hardest part of her life was when Malala and her family had to leave their home. They had to stay somewhere else because the fighting was getting too bad. When they returned to their house her brothers were devastated because their pet chicks had starved and died. In school, Malala was very talented. She received many awards in school and she was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in 2013. In 2014, she was nominated again and won. Malala became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.

Malala surprised me in many ways. She was so brave and courageous. The questions I would ask Malala would be is 1. Were you ever really scared. 2. Did you ever think of stopping. 3. Did your friends know about what you were doing and did all of them support you. I would want to be Malala's child but at the same time I wouldn't. I wouldn't because I feel like that everyone would expect you to be that same as her. I really liked my book. At times it was confusing because it would change dates. But overall it was full of information. This is the version of the book for younger readers and there isn't as much violence. The main thing I learned from the book is to never give up. One thing that I could use is the way that she never gives up. Sometimes I get frustrated and I stop working on it. I think that we should all read this book because I learned things that I didn't know were happening in Pakistan, and we didn' t know because we were younger and we didn't understand. I am very happy that I chose to learn about this person, because like I already said, I learned things that I didn't know were going on. I definitely look up to Malala. She stood up for what she believes in and I think that that is the best thing anyone can do.