I Am Malala

by Malala Yousafzai

I want to be Malala when I grow up.

Seriously. Everyone should read this book and then we can all wonder together what we've been doing with our lives while this girl has been fighting to make the world a better place. Her bravery and optimism are astounding and the rest of us can only hope to ever be as cool as she is.

I think my favorite part of this book was the fact that she points out the irony of the Taliban. As a deeply religious Muslim who has memorized the Quran, Malala is well equipped to point out exactly how these people are wrong. While they beat and threaten women into staying home and out of men's sight, Malala insists that nowhere in the Quran does it say that women should not go to school. On the contrary, it encourages both boys and girls to gain as much knowledge as they can. According to Malala, Islam is a pro-education faith.

Purdah is a touchy subject. I'm not a fan of it personally, but I'll try to remain respectful of other people's beliefs. While many Muslim women were practicing purdah before the Taliban came along, the Taliban imposed further restrictions on women for no apparent reason. Not only did they have to cover their heads, but they had to wear burqas, could not go outside without being accompanied by their husband or a male relative, and they were forbidden from dancing. Why the Taliban is so against music and dancing is beyond me. It reminds me of certain Christians who seem to think that anything that's fun must be evil. I guess that's another thing that Christians and Muslims have in common, regardless of whether or not they'll ever admit it.

I thought Malala made a great point when she said the Taliban accused women of wanting to disobey their fathers and husbands by going outside on their own. Malala says that this is not true. She points out that there is a difference between wanting to make your own decisions and wanting to be disobedient. I thought this was an excellent point because it effectively shuts down one of the Taliban's main arguments.

Of course, this is all coming from a girl who has been granted quite a bit of independence. Her father is an educated and liberal-minded man who encourages his daughter to study, to work hard, and to speak out for what she believes in. Malala is truly an amazing person, but it's clear that she couldn't have done any of what she did without the help and support of her father. Those two are so adorable. Just look at them.