Malala is a child just like you and me. She was born and raised in the Swat Valley in Pakistan. From a young age, Malala knew that she wanted to stand up for women’s and girl’s rights to education and freedom. Her valley was taken over when she was small, so she started to do interviews when she was 10 and from there found her confidence and courage. In 2011 she became so well-known and so respected she became the youngest winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.
She continued with her schooling even though she wasn’t allowed to go, and in 2012 she received a death threat from the Taliban because of what she was doing. She was determined to keep fighting and keep going to school. One day while she was on the bus on her way home from school a man with a gun jumped into the back of the vehicle and asked which of the girls was Malala. He shot two other girls and then shot Malala three times in the face. Malala woke up a week later in a hospital in England. She couldn’t move or talk and she was very scared that she was dead or that she wouldn’t see her family again because they were in Pakistan.
No one expected her to survive. Now she is 18 and her story has stretched all over the world. I was totally inspired by her courage and determination and I want to be like her. She didn’t let anything get in her way even though her life was like a war. I love the way Malala writes – it is as if she is sitting next to you. She is so calm and she reminds me a bit of Anne Frank because this is almost like a diary and she is also in a type of war. I implore you to read this life changing book.
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