I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban

“When Fazlullah came there were no more school trips” (123). Not only were girls not to be seen outside, but the valley’s culture is targeted. The Taliban destroy a large Buddha, “which had watched over the valley since the seventh century” (124). Cable is shut off. “It seemed like the Taliban didn’t want us to do anything” (124). The Taliban also attacks the police. Soon, they take over dozens of villages and set up administration. “All this happened and nobody did a thing” (125).

The Taliban begin using the girls of the Red Mosque madrasa (religious school) to terrorize other women. The women make CD and DVD bonfires, close shops, and kidnap women. “When it suits the Taliban, women can be vocal and visible” (127). The military assaults the mosque and asks for the women to surrender. “Some of the girls refused, saying their teachers had taught them that to become a martyr is a glorious thing” (127). The military operation succeeded.

The mosque’s ultimate capture results in increased anger from Fazlullah and the Taliban. He vows to gather support in the name of the mosque. General Musharraf becomes a civilian president backed by female leader Benazir Bhutto’s party. Malala looks up to Benazir, who is in exile. “She was our only political leader to speak out against the militants and even offered to help American troops hunt for bin Laden inside Pakistani borders” (129). The shifting political scene causes Fazlullah to create curfews. They take police stations and “Hardly anyone resisted” (131).

Benazir is killed in an attack. Around the same time, Malala is learning the Quran from a teacher. He tells her it was good Benazir was killed. Horrified, she tells her father. His reply is that: “We don’t have any options. We are dependent on these mullahs to learn the Quran….But you just use him to learn the literal meaning of the words; don’t follow his explanations and interpretation. Only learn what God says. His words are divine messages, which you are free and independent to interpret” (134).

School continues to motivate Malala, despite the dark events happening around her. Most important to her motivation are the girls who compete with her: Moniba and Malka-e-Noor. To get through the dark days, the girls sketch and play. “But of course at school we were under threat too, and some of my friends dropped out. Fazlullah kept broadcasting that girls should stay at home, and his men had started blowing up schools, usually during nighttime curfew when the children were not there” (137).

“We were scared, but our fear was not as strong as our courage” (138). Malala’s father and several of his friends begin doing interviews. “They went back and forth to Peshawar and Islamabad and gave lots of interviews on the radio, particularly to the Voice of America and the BBCS, taking turns so there would always be one of them available” (139). Her father and his friends become some of the few speaking out. Most people are scared to say anything publicly for fear of retribution. Her father “hated the fact that most people would not speak up” (140).

Malala and her friends begin to get interviewed by news outlets, but as they got older, her friends’ brothers and families stop them from speaking out. “In my heart was the belief that God would protect me. If I am speaking for my rights, for the rights of girls, I am not doing anything wrong. It’s my duty to do so. God wants to see how we behave in such situations. There is a saying in the Quran, ‘The falsehood has to go and the truth will prevail’” (141-2).

During one interview, a Taliban spokesman was supposed to be there to be interviewed as well. However, his interview was recorded, so there was no response to Malala’s questions about education. Her father begins to feel sad because the public turned against schools, too. He went onto a live show to interview alongside a member of the Taliban. The representative refuses to answer Malala’s father’s refutations and questions.

The Taliban destroys hundreds of schools. Fazlullah’s administration announces all girls’ schools would close. Despite the threats, Malala’s parents never ask her to withdraw. “The Taliban could take our pens and books, but they couldn’t stop our minds from thinking” (146).