Malala Yousafzai tells of the moment she was shot by the Taliban for campaigning for girls’ education in her new autobiography out Tuesday, amid speculation that she may be about to become the youngest ever winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.
Co-written with British journalist Christina Lamb, “I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and was Shot by the Taliban” tells of the 16-year-old’s terror as two gunmen boarded her school bus on October 9, 2012 and shot her in the head.
“My friends say he fired three shots, one after another,” she writes.
“By the time we got to the hospital my long hair and Moniba’s lap were full of blood.”
The book describes Malala’s life under the Taliban’s brutal rule in northwest Pakistan’s Swat valley in the mid-2000s, hints at her ambition to enter Pakistani politics, and even describes her father’s brief flirtation with Islamic fundamentalism as a youngster.
Now living in Britain’s second city Birmingham, where she was flown for specialist treatment after the shooting, it also tells of her homesickness and her struggle to adjust to life in England.
A competitive schoolgirl who loves to be top of the class, the book reveals she is a fan of Canadian pop sensation Justin Bieber and the “Twilight” series of vampire romance novels.
Malala had become well-known in Pakistan as a young campaigner for girls’ right to attend school after the Taliban took control of Swat in 2007, speaking out against the militants’ ban on female education and their bombing of local schools.
She describes how she received death threats in the months before the assassination. “At night I would wait until everyone was asleep,” she writes. “Then I’d check every single door and window.”
She adds, “I don’t know why, but hearing I was being targeted did not worry me. It seemed to me that everyone knows they will die one day.
“So I should do whatever I want to do.”
The book describes public floggings by the Taliban, their ban on television, dancing and music, and the family’s decision to flee Swat along with nearly one million others in 2009 amid heavy fighting between the militants and Pakistani troops.
Later it details her surgeons’ frantic battle to save her life and her panic at waking up in a hospital thousands of miles from home.
The book is full of praise for Malala’s father Ziauddin Yousafzai, describing how he worked to set up his own school and risked his life by speaking out against the Taliban.
She angrily rejects criticism that he pushed her too hard to campaign alongside him –”like a tennis dad trying to create a champion” – or has used her as a mouthpiece “as if I don’t have my own mind”.
The book reveals that Malala’s father briefly considered becoming a jihadist when he was a teenager and going to fight in neighbouring Afghanistan following the Soviet invasion in 1979.
She also acknowledges that she, like her father, has been the target of considerable criticism at home, with many regarding her as a stooge of the West.
Malala goes on to describe the family’s homesickness and her views on life in England, including her horror when she first saw scantily-clad girls going out at night in Birmingham, and her amazement at seeing men and women socialising openly in coffee shops.
She has struggled to make friends at her English school, she reveals, and still spends hours talking to her friends in Swat using Skype.
However, she adds there is also much to like about life in England — “people follow the rules, they respect policemen and everything happens on time”, she writes. “I see women having jobs we couldn’t imagine in Swat.”
She frequently namechecks the late former prime minister Benazir Bhutto as a heroine, and makes clear her ambition to one day return to her homeland and become a politician – despite continued threats from the Taliban that they will attack her again if given the chance.
“I was spared for a reason — to use my life for helping people,” she writes.
Malala is among the favourites for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, which will be awarded on Friday.
Malala you are a very brave lady and a very loving daughter of the entire nation. We are all very proud of you, and support your noble work and courage to stand up to the brutality of the Talibans. Our duaas are always with you and all others who are like you and also those who are supporting you . May Allah the most merciful protect you and bless you with continued success- Ameen. Love you baby.
Sorry but I dont think she has done much for girls education in Pakistan. She shot to fame after taliban attacked her, and thats her start to limelight! No doubt she is now a symbol of girls education but doubt it very much she has done anything practical for education back home in Pakistan. Bringing few friends to Britain, who were with her while shooting take place, is no way any service to girls in Pakistan.
Low life Taliban made her a star!
Malala got shot in the head to further girls education in pakistan, that is an extreme sacrifice , now it is left to others to extend her struggle and make sure that the girls have the freedom to get educated if they so desire and free from the threats of Taliban.
I have not read , "I am Malaka yet. Therefore I would refrain from writing reviw of this book. I am sure that this book will become a best seller. Now moving to another story about Malala. Infact I find it offensive that TTP would not only admit their attempt at her life last year, but also issue warning to her her. Shahid ullah Shahid the spokesman of TTP said that they will attack her again to kill her agin when they get a chance to do so. These rogues have no decency to stop from this kind of rhetoric. It is an insult to the intelligence of humans.
Malala is a sixteen year old gorl, and they are afraid of her, and wants to eliminate her.But they do not understand that God saved her last time and He will save her again. They should apologize for making such statements.
Any ways , the whole world knows about their cowardice. How stupid and callous they can be than this ? I bet they have no shame.
They have no understanding and knowledue of Islam. They are a black stain on the name of Islam. They have absolutely no idea what real Islam is, and What its real message to the himanity stands for.
These illiterate , so-called Chamoions of Islam should hang their heads down in a shame, that they can not handle her.
There is no doubt about her intelligence, bravery and courage. The whole world and the intellegentia acknowledges these facts. She is known for her bravert and courage, And this pea nut brain Shahid ullah denounces her for these traits writ large on her face. These cowards are indeed afraid of Sixteen year old girl.
Malala fear not no harm can come to ypu. God is the great protector of all.
JAVAID BASHIR
Mr nawaz Sherif and Mr imran khan . when can malala return to swat her home land. is it safe. can you make it safe. in your hunt for cheap votes and power, do you have time for her. where are your daughters and grand daughters are studying. have they stooped going to school
Every one who will earn a bad name for Pakistan, will be awarded big damn awards..
noble prize for Malala and oscar for shermeen…
i cant believe that TTP persons entered her school van, shot her head from automatic weapons from point blank range and still she got time to reach hospital…
that rattle bullet was infact her and her family's ticket to UK, and also the west needed an evidence that we enjoy a very bad social system in pakistan.
every thing she will do now, will be Commanded and controlled by the lobby that brought her there….
i will be wrong with my figures, but i know that 95% of pakis are hating Malala and yet she thinks her self , the daughter of Pakistan
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