Malala Yousafzai is from a country where it is hard to be a girl, where there are arranged marriages, and, where the people like to play cricket. Malala was always a bright, bookish girl who loved school and was top of her class. “Malala is a genius girl.” Her fellow classmates would say. She even participated in many activities, including badminton, drama, art, and so on. Her father, who had both bachelors and masters degrees, was also passionate about education. In fact, he started the school that Malala attended! Malala tells of how he was always encouraging and supporting of her in everything she did. In the book, he quotes, “I will protect your freedom, Malala. Carry on with your dreams.”

Malala was born on July 12, 1997 in the Swat Valley, in Pakistan. Her parents named her after Malalai of Maiwand, a heroine of Afghanistan. As the story goes, Malalai was the daughter of a shepherd. When she was a teenager, she went to the battlefield, Afghans fighting against the British occupation of their country, with the other women of her village to tend to the wounded, as both her father and her husband-to-be were fighting. She saw that their men were losing, so when the flag bearer fell, she lifted her veil high and marched out on the battlefield in front of the troops. “Young love!” She shouted. “If you do not fall in the battle of Maiwand then, by God, someone is saving you as a symbol of shame.” She was killed under fire, but her words and bravery had inspired the troops to fight harder, and they won. In a way, Malala followed in her namesake’s footsteps. Her words inspired many people to take up a fight against the oppression of the Taliban.

Malala was amazing in gaining women’s rights to education in Pakistan. Her doctor once said, “If she’d died, I would’ve killed Pakistan’s Mother Teresa. And she was right. Without Malala, the situation in Pakistan would’ve probably went on a lot longer than it did. She participated in a peace march, gave a large amount of interviews and speeches, and even competed against boys to stand up for her rights as a woman. Not only did she do all of this, but she did it all under the constant threat of the Taliban, who did not believe in education or rights for women. Malala and her father, also a speaker, both received more than one death threat from the Taliban and its followers, but that did not deter them from their final goal, to achieve what they had been seeking for many years. Not only did Mala fight for women’s rights, but she also wanted peace. She took an almost Gandhi perspective, not fighting with power, but with words.

Malala achieved rights for women’s education. She spoke at many conventions, gave interviews, said speeches, and even did a documentary. She was a very powerful voice for the girls of Pakistan. Malala did all of this at a young age, too. She was only fifteen when she was shot by the Taliban, and survived, but she had been fighting for herself and the other women of Pakistan for years before that, also. Even being shot at did not deter her from her goal. She still did, and does, speak out.

I believe that Malala was very brave. Even through the threat of the Taliban, Malala fought for what was right. She fought for education. She even left her home village to speak, then her home country because of what she stood for. She spoke up, even when she was scared. The Taliban was scared of her, a little girl, because of her hope. Because that is what she is. Hope. For the women, children, people that couldn’t complete their education, and others, not just in Pakistan, but around the world. The Taliban was so scared of her that they shot her, a fifteen year old girl, because she stood up for herself, and everyone else. The Taliban is still scared of her, of what she stands for, for though they think that they hate her, it is just fear. Fear that this one little girl may be smarter than them, more loyal than them, braver than them. The y think that it was brave to shoot her, but instead it made them weaker, and her braver. Malala was, is, and will be a huge influence on people to fight for what they believe in.