Malala Yousfaza is the youngest Nobel Peace Prize winner at 17 years old. She was born on 12
July 1997 in Mingora, Pakistan into a lower middle class family. The text name of this text is
called “I am Malala”. This novel excerpts talks about her life and what she experinced. Her
father founded the local girls’ school she attended growing up. When the Taliban took control of
Pakistan, the extremists banned many things, including girls were not allowed to go to school. In
2012, the 15-year old girl was on her way to school as normal. However, a Taliban army
boarded her school bus and looked for Malala. “Bang!” Malala was shot in the head but luckily,
she survived after warded by 6 months in the hospital.
Since knowing about Malala’s story, I have been amazed by her courage and determination. As
a teenager, she was very brave to face the challenges she went through. The power that I can
see from Malala is gender equality for education. The Taliban banned girls from going to school
but Malala went against the rules, even though she knew she risked her life for doing so. Harsh
punishments were enforced for those who go against their orders. However, Malala risked her
life to stand up for the right to go to school. Unfortunately in October 2012, Malala was shot in
the head by a Taliban gunman and she remained unconscious for 10 days in the hospital.
She was determined and continued to stand up for the girls’ rights even though she was shot by
the Taliban before. She dared to voice her opinion in the public and this attracted the world’s
attention. Her passion and bravery was shared worldwide. According to her, “ I tell my story not
because it is unique, but because it is the story of many girls”. The moment she started to go
against the Taliban rule, she knows she could die anytime but her passion did not stop her. She
did not care for anything else except the rights’ for girls to free, safe and quality education. She
is a young hero and a role model to everyone. She continue her fight and set up Malala Fund, a
charity to provide opportunity for every girl to have education and equality.
After reading the novel excerpts, I believe that this book is one that everyone should read.
Malala is the voice that everyone should listen to. The book is easy to read and the composer
did a great job in showing the daily life that Malala went through in Pakistan under Taliban rule. I
was shocked when I read what Malala lived through as a young girl. However, she did not give
in and she fight for women’s rights in education. A simile found in this book is, “for us girls that
doorway was like a magical entrance to our own special world. Which means, school was like a
magical entrance to their own special world because education means a lot to her. A dialogue
from her, “Okay, shoot me, but first listen to me. What you are doing is wrong. I’m not against
you personally, I just want every girl to go to school”. She believes that powerful voice can
change the world and she will continue to fight for what she believes in.
All in all, Malala is truly a heroic icon to everyone of us. She fight against the authorities and
keep up the struggle for girls’ rights and education. As a teenager myself, I feel luckier than
Malala that I can access to good education and opportunities. I know if I work hard, I can
achieve whatever I dream of. I can go to college or university and become whatever I wish.
Unlike Malala, I do not need to face any big life challenges which cannot be overcome. I am
able to go and meet up with friends and enjoy a lot of hobbies or activities. I do not need to
worry about approval from authorities. Her life is so much tougher than ours. I know that millions
of girls across the world are like Malala. They are not allowed to have free education and suffer
from discrimination. We have much more freedom. No matter if you are a boy or a girl, we still
get the same rights. We all get to go to school, work and play. Therefore, I hope Malala’s story
will comtinue to inspire everyone of us in our life.