“I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and was Shot by the Taliban”

                                                Chapter I – A Daughter is Born

Introduction

Malala Yousafzai is a strong, intelligent, and passionate crusader for women’s rights and the right to free education. The Talibans banned entertainment and enforced restrictions on women and harsh punishments.   In early 2009, when she was 11, she wrote a blog under her pseudonym Gul Makai (cornflower) to detail her life during the Taliban's occupation of Swat led by Maulana Fazlullah. In October 2012, Malala was shot by a gunman on the left side of her head. She got treated in Birmingham, England. In 2013, she co-authored I Am Malala. In 2014, she was the co-recipient of the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize, with Kailash Satyarthi of India. She was the youngest-ever Nobel Prize laureate at the age of 17.

Malala’s Birth:

Malala was born in 1997 in Mingora, the largest city in the beautiful Swat Valley, located in northwest Pakistan. She is a member of the largest Pashtun tribe, the Yousafzai, who live by the Pashtunwali code of hospitality and honour. Her father Ziauddin and his cousin, Jehan Sher Khan Yousafzai celebrated her birth with coins and fruit, which is unusual in a country that doesn’t value girls,

Malala’s Family:

Malala's small family includes —her educated, forward-thinking father who founded the first school for girls in Mingora; her beautiful and pious mother, Toor Pekai; and her younger brothers Khushal and Atal, with whom she sometimes fights.   Khushal, is named after their father’s school. Her youngest brother, Atal, is seven years younger than she. Her family is very small by Swati standards. 

Malala’s Name:

She was named after Malalai, a courageous Afghan heroine in the 1880s, who led the Pashtuns in a successful uprising against the British Empire.  British soldiers killed her, but her troops eventually defeated the British. Monuments were built in Afghanistan for her. She is a symbol of the native resistance to foreign aggression.

Swat Valley:

Formerly, Swat was a Buddhist state and it becomes an Islamic town in the 11th century. There are still ruins of Buddhist temples in Swat. After Indian independence in 1947, Swat became an autonomous state of Pakistan. The people of Swat use the Pakistani currency—the rupee. Most of the people of Swat have never left their valley.

Swati:

Malala’s family is very small by Swati standards. Her people aspire to have paler skin. Malala’s father, for instance, was always ashamed of his dark skin as a child. Her parents married out of love which is rare there. Women were restricted from traveling where they wanted.

Pashtuns:

Malala’s family is descended from the Yousafzai, a noted Pashtun tribe who celebrated combat as well as poetry. The Yousafzai fought with one another constantly, but in 1917, one Yousafzai warrior managed to impose order on the Swati Valley. His son, Jehanzeb, brought great wealth and prosperity to the Valley. Malala thinks of herself as Swati first, then Pashtun, then Pakistani.

Conclusion:

Malala didn’t let the sexism of her society stifle her. Her father as a good role model encouraged her to be “free as a bird.” She was born with a sense of freedom and natural morality.