The school bus stops suddenly, a man gets on and asks โWho is Malala?โ, and without waiting for an answer fires three bullets hitting three little girls, one in the face.
Malala describes the attack, and also aspects of her life in the Swat valley in the book which takes its name from the answer she wanted to give her attacker: โI am Malalaโ.
This book leads the reader through a number of reflections on the society in which we live, which are extremely relevant today.
Malala Yousafzai, now 25, is a Pakistani activist who has been fighting against the Taliban regime since the age of 11. She has campaigned for civil rights, in particular the right to education for women in the town of Mingora in the Swat Valley.
Her selfless commitment even earned her the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014, when she was only 16 years old. And she made history: never before had someone so young been awarded the renowned accolade.
In her autobiography โI am Malalaโ, published in 2013, Malala tells the story of her life, which she has always faced with courage and resilience. Despite the many obstacles in her path, even risking being shot in the head by the Taliban on her way out of school, Malala has never given up her fight for women’s freedom.
This book invites us to reflect on some unacceptable practices, which are, alas, still very common today. To give you a better understanding of what I mean, I have decided to quote a passage from the book.
After delivering her well-known speech on the right to education before UN delegates in New York, Malala received a disturbing letter. A Taliban commander, who had just escaped from prison, berates her for her activism, but promises her forgiveness from the Taliban under one tough condition: she must return to Pakistan, according to their rules.
Faced with these words, Malala responds in this way: โWho does this man think he is, expressing himself in this way? The Taliban are not our leaders. This is my life, and how I decide to live it is my own businessโ.
Her reaction is strong and courageous. Not everyone in her situation would have had the confidence to confront those arrogant words by asserting the freedom to be ourselves.
Whether it is imposing one’s beliefs on others, preventing a Swat girl from studying or two people from loving each other and getting married, the story is always the same.
How often do we feel overwhelmed by the prevarication of others?
In this individualistic society in which we live, there is always someone ready to point the finger at what others are doing; someone ready to use violence just for the sake of feeling powerful.
These practices do not only affect countries with dictatorships, such as Pakistan or Afghanistan. Unfortunately, we have to be on the alert everywhere, and it is time to implement change to make our society better. We start by teaching our children tolerance towards others, regardless of their religion, gender, skin colour, age, sexual orientation, etc.
We must not let the arrogance of prevarication turn us into animals without humanity.
