Malala Yousafzai is a girl who got shot at the age of 15 for believing in human rights. She was shot right in her head, a critical spot, but she survived. Her life as a whole is unique, her bravery, and power through the hardships she's experienced all make her, her. This book allowed us to navigate the hardships she had to go through, being a female, experiencing restricted freedom and being educated.
She was born on July 12, 1997, she was born at dawn, which is considered lucky in her community. But as soon as she was born, many people in her community expressed their sadness because she was a girl. A female was looked down upon. Sexism is one of the themes that were presented in this book. As a Muslim woman myself, this book has allowed me to understand the differences in the environment. As sexism is a cultural thing, that may be influenced by religion, Malala describes sexism as a normal idea. She has been surrounded by such ideals that it isn’t shocking to her anymore. This is disheartening, although, at home, I am faced with sexism, I am lucky enough to go outside and be surrounded in New York City, where it is less prevalent.
If I would describe the book in one word it would be, hope. Throughout the book, we see the challenges she faces, especially within Swat. She is of a low-income family. She often looked up to her father for guidance as he was a humanitarian and founded the first girl school. Even though the case, they still did not have enough money to have a home. Her parents are together because of love, not because of forced marriage. This is important as her family does not stick to the ideals of everyone else in Pakistan.
From her unique background, we see everyone in her family is knowledgeable in one way or another. This creates a good background of understanding who Malala is surrounded by. As we continue on we see the history, colorism, and war that ensues within Swat. Since her father created a school, we see how generous Malala was, pleading her father to let people of lower-income attend. This school also faces backlash as Ghulamullah, a scholar, claimed that this was going against Allah's will. This school was one of the many situations that Malala and her family faced. The chance that she was brought into the world, under a lens in which females were often viewed as less than, but being surrounded by a powerful support system that can help her navigate through the toxicity of her surroundings.
Islamic society idolizes woman to be submissive, and tamed, and solely a wife. The dynamic value between a male and a female in Pakistan is important in understanding how difficult it must've been for Malala to grow up. Education is merely a setback for females which is outrageous. As we continue on she eventually discusses the war, Taliban's, Americans and innocent bystanders. Surrounded by war, Malala is continues forced to stop going to school due to the suicide bombings. As she grows older, she realized the danger that she is in. When she was shot this causes prayers and chaos. “She explained that the bullet had entered through the side of my left eye where there was a scar, traveled eighteen inches down to my left shoulder and stopped there. It could have taken out my eye or gone into my brain. It was a miracle I was alive” (Page 282). If all girls were educated the world would be a better place, as women have more empathy and more emotions that can balance out the men’s ideals in this world.
Malala’s book expresses her livelihood. It expresses her surroundings and how toxic, war, and religion can be. She is expressive is explaining that religion is not the cause of this but is one of the many branches. She was lucky that she did not get shot where she would die. Her spirit, along with her message spans globally. She is a fighter for education and equality. As we see her ideas have been projected globally, this is because she is a fighter, whether physically or mentally she shines a light on something that was not lit before. Her book would be just as impactful as her actions are loud, her words are louder.
“Peace in every home, every street, every village, every country – this is my dream. Education for every boy and every girl in the world. To sit down on a chair and read my books with all my friends at school is my right. To see each and every human being with a smile of happiness is my wish.” (Page 313)
