Literary Analysis Essay on I am Malala

Introduction

I am Malala is a book that tells the story of Malala Yousafzai who was born in the year 1997 in Swat Valley in Pakistan. She was born in a Pashtun family with her family being a poor one until her father started a school where Malala and other girls went to study. She grew up around school pursuing her father's dream of running a school and ensuring that both girls and boys got educated. She was always the first in her class, and things went well for her and her family until the Taliban invaded Swat Valley. They bombed one of her father's schools forcing him to close them. The Islamic group denied all girls a chance to go to school, but Malala protested that decision and publicly spoke against it, which inspired several other girls to join her in school. A Taliban member shot Malala on her way from school, which makes her experience several identities which influence her life differently, both positively and negatively.

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Swat Valley Resident

Ethnic Pashtun and Malala populate Swat Valley was one of them; hence, she took her surname from one of the tribes in the Valley. Malala acknowledges a lot of pride in this culture, and from the time she was born, she cites different cases that happened in the Valley (Yousafzai 15). Women in the Pashtun tribe were treated differently from men with the author stating some examples such as a ten-year-old girl who was sold to an older man with a wife and a fifteen-year-old girl that was poisoned because of interacting with a young boy. The Pashtun have a custom named Swara, where a girl is given away to another tribe so that the tribes can settle their differences. This makes the birth of daughters in this tribe to be nothing to be celebrated. However, hers was a different story because she was born at dawn which was a good omen.

Pashtun

She was born in a family where her mother could neither read nor write, but her father was an educated man who owned a school. Her father encouraged her and other young girls to take education seriously despite the cultural and political opposition they faced (Yousafzai 24). The membership in this community influenced her and her behavior as she embraced culture through the support of her father and even won different academic honors. The Taliban tried to stop any education for women, but Malala was supported again by her father as they spoke out in favor of girls' education. The prize dedicated in her honor of fighting for girls to go to school posed a threat to her, but she continued to speak publicly for schooling. The phrase "heroism is in the Pashtun DNA" was used by her father to encourage her. Years later, her fight for girl education led to her shooting by a Taliban man. She survived the shooting, and this propelled her to fame worldwide with her campaign for the education of the girls going global. Many countries, worldwide inspired by Malala, made it a priority for free education for all children regardless of their gender.

Muslim

Muslims did not believe in the right for education for women, and many of them were married off to another man without their consent which was mostly a family arrangement. Despite being a Muslim, Malala realized how people used Islam to belittle women and forbid them from going to school (Yousafzai 50). She came up with her perspective of Islam, where she brought out the notion that women could be educated yet they were still active Muslims. The invasion of the Taliban into the Valley led to a repressive interpretation where women were required to remain covered in a burqa when they were in public. They also blew up the Buddha that was carved in the Valley, which showed that they wanted Islam religion only (Yousafzai 46). Malala and her father wrote articles where they condemned the Taliban and the way they used the Quran to extort and violate other Muslims. This led to a series of events that made Malala travel to Islamabad, where she saw successful women. This inspired her a lot and made her win different awards and meet different prominent people. Her shooting by the Islamic group made her fight for the Muslim girls' rights stronger globally.

Female

Female members in the Islam based country were oppressed openly with this oppression being encouraged by different leaders. Malala expressed her dissatisfaction with the way women were expected to remain at home from their childhood to adulthood (Yousafzai 18). Their duty was specified to specific roles with them being seen as inferior to men. This oppression, as explained by Malala, grew more intense as the Taliban invaded the Swat Valley and started attacking schools where girls were getting any education. Her father closed down the school for fear of his daughter being attacked, but Malala with another group of girls continued attending school. Malala had a different point of view on how females should be treated which made her pave the way for the publicity she got for encouraging girls' education (Nasir 4). Malala's father acknowledged her as a valued treasure who had to fight for the rights of all females from birth, where he gave her the name of a female Pakistan heroine. Malala was as free as a bird to do anything that she desired, unlike other females who were restricted by their families.

Student

Malala's father Ziauddin created schools which offered education to different children irrespective of their gender. Due to Ziauddin's advocacy for education, free speech and the rights of women, he encouraged Malala to participate in competitions of speaking and debates which saw her become the most talented speaker at her age (Yousafzai 64). She acquired a tendency of always topping her class. With the instances of poverty in the community, she pushed her father to take more children at his school on a scholarship. Her education continued in different areas in Pakistan and Islamabad, where she used her skills to keep fighting for girls' rights. In the end, her family moved to Birmingham, where she continued with her education ending with the phrase that even though the Taliban tried to eliminate her, they could never have killed education and equality worldwide.

The Identity That Is the Largest Force in Malala’s Life

Being female is the most active identity that brings out the most significant force in Malala's life. She was born in religion and land where females were taken for granted and were not allowed to learn. She stood up against such female oppressions which makes her a Pakistan enemy (Nasir 2). When the Taliban invaded Swat Valley and forced girls to stay at home with no education, Malala started her campaign for girls to attend school. She also began condemning the Taliban and their activities, which led to her being shot in the school bus. The shooting did not silence Malala. Instead, it made her more eloquent attracting worldwide attention. The fact that she is female, and the Taliban used the Islam religion to fight girls' education gave her the strength to fight for free education being a general right in all countries worldwide.

How I identify Myself

I identify myself as a person who is not influenced by other people's decisions. My self-esteem is high, where I have no fear of what people think about me. I possess a lot of resourcefulness that is the necessity to overcome uncertainty, manage change effectively, and to solve different problems I encounter in my life. When I discuss a subject with other people, I bring out my feelings and thoughts on the topic with confidence, even if others disagree with my view. Self-esteem influences how I think and act because it helps me to stand tall among other people when discussing a specific topic. The confidence that I possess makes me undertake my duties without fear of what other people think about me or whether they are offended of my actions which are an extension of the real me. It has also influenced me because it has made me have complete knowledge of my thoughts and feelings when it comes to subjects that I care about.

Conclusion

People can't stand firm with what they believe in if they allow people to control their decisions for them. Malala chose to make her voice heard all over the world, even with threats from one of the most dangerous criminal gangs in the world. Also, after a Taliban member shotted her, she did not give up on her quest. Instead, she grew stronger and ridiculed them more after she was out of the hospital. She experienced different identities in her life from her young age, and they played a significant role in building the prominent lady she is today.

Works Cited

Nasir, Muhammad. "The Struggle for Women Education in Swat Pakistan: An Analysis of "I am Malala" a Novel by Malala Yousafzai." 3rd World Conference on Integration of Knowledge (WCIK 2016), Langkawi-Malezya. 2016.

Yousafzai, Malala. I AM MALALA. The Girl Who Stood Up For Education And Was Shot By The Taliban. Orion Publishing Group, 2013, pp. 1-195.