I just finished reading “I Am Malala” by Malala Yousafzai. I could only hope I would have a fraction of the drive and energy this girl has for her cause if I were in her situation.
If you have been under a rock, Malala is the famous girls’-education rights activist from Pakistan. She has been on various talk shows and written under a pseudonym about her daily life as well as then writing as herself. She is considered the Mother Theresa of our time. She is also the youngest person to win the Nobel Peace Prize at 17.
Or, you might remember her from the Taliban shooting her in the face when she was only 15.
But this isn’t really what her book is about. It’s a fantastic chronicle of the struggle of the Pakistani people and most especially its women and girls. She thoughtfully details the ups and downs of her Swat Valley from its creation and then fluidly moves from her families’ history to her own present day accounts. I’m incredibly impressed by her leadership, intelligence and that she is a “normal” teenage girl whose favorite subject in school is physics but she still loves the Vampire Diaries.
If you want to be inspired by a future world leader, read her book now. It will give you an amazing and timely perspective of the situation in the Middle East and why it is going to be so difficult to help bring them up to the education standards that every child deserves. If she ever asks for my help, she’s going to get it.
Patti is still learning 