Lady Bookworm's Diary #2 I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban by Malala Yousafzai and Christina Lamb

Spoiler Alert ❗

ONE CHILD, ONE TEACHER, ONE BOOK
AND ONE PEN CAN CHANGE THE WORLD

Today I will be writing about Malala, this young courageous girl from Pakistan who stood up for education and was shot by Taliban as the title of her first book shortly summarizes. She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014 (she was only seventeen at that time) and gets huge media attention nowadays, so I'm sure you've already heard about her.

Two years ago I asked a Pakistani friend of mine who was also in Germany for a master's degree what he thinks of Malala. He told me that he doesn't like her and appreciate what she has written because of the fact that she speaks ill of Pakistan in her narrative. I wanted to read the book and question her narrative by myself instead of asking my friend further questions.

I read the book some weeks ago and I liked it. I definitely did.

I've always liked reading about Pakistan. I'm kinda familiar with its history or let's say I know how it came into being thanks to my master thesis which had a lot to do with the partition of India and the creation of two independent states, India and Pakistan. Malala's book tells a lot about the presence of Taliban and the consequences of this presence on local people in Pakistan but it also gives a large amount of information concerning the country including its languages, cultures, ethnic groups and the beautiful Swat Valley.

A Short Summary of the Book

Malala's narrative starts in 2012, when she was shot by Taliban in the head in a school bus. Malala, as a teenage girl, wants to go to school and continue with her education after Taliban interruption in her region. She becomes quite popular in her region and in Pakistan as well because she is not only a successful student but also an activist for female education and human rights. Taliban, regarding her as a threat for the system they set up, targets her in a school bus and tries to kill her. Malala survives and is brought to England for treatment.

The story then goes back to the past and gives detailed information concerning Malala's parents and their lives before their marriage, Malala's birth, her early childhood and school years. Readers dive also deep into the history of Pakistan with its ethnic communities, presidents, governments and relationships with other countries in her narrative.

If you want to read a detailed summary of Malala's book, you can have a look at this article.

One of the first things you will notice in a second when you are reading this book will be this young lady's strong bond with books and the world of literature. She adores her school bag and every single book she carries in it. She quotes from some important works of literature which she obviously devoured as soon as she got access to them. Her books serve as a shelter, a tunnel to a world of peace for her whenever she feels herself caged. Her books and her trust in education give her power to fight injustice. I adored her determination. Malala's story is definitely worth reading it.

Below you see some quotations from this book:

In Pakistan when people say they want independence, people think this means we don't want to obey our fathers, brothers and husbands.

Only learn what God says. His words are divine messages, which you are free and independent to interpret.

If Christians, Hindus or Jews are really our enemies, as so many say, why are we Muslims fighting with each other?

I hope you have enjoyed my post!

Who am I❓

Nesibe Yildiz. 28 years old, living in Germany. Master’s degree in English Literature. English and German teacher. I do love reading, writing and learning/teaching foreign languages.

I've been writing about books on Steemit.

FOLLOW me if you don't want to miss my posts,
UPVOTE my post if you like what I've written and want to support me as an author,
RESTEEM my post if you want the other Steemians to see my post as well.

The link to my former book review: The Martian by Andy Weir