Malala is a young lady who became known to the world after the Taliban shot her in her head for speaking out. She is a girl who decided to make a difference in her country and as a result made a difference in the world. In the words of Mahatma Gandhi, “We must become the change we want to see in the world. ” In the memoir, I am Malala, Malala’s relationship with her father is continuously highlighted throughout.
Malala depicts the relationship with her father by telling us about the influence her father has on her education, the encouragement he gives her to break the status quo, as well as the inspiration she receives from her father to make a difference in the world just as he is doing. Malala’s father instills all three of these points in her by teaching her to be strong, to be courageous, and to speak out with her whole heart just as he continues to do. Malala’s love for her education mimics that of her fathers, Ziauddine.
She hungered for knowledge as a way to strengthen herself “for the fight against ignorance and terrorism” (xv). Malala’s entire life from the minute she was born until the present revolved around school. She learned from her father that he had to work to get his education after high school to become a teacher; therefore, she should take advantage of every opportunity given to her to enhance her learning. Malala from a young age wanted to excel in her studies and be at to the top of her class. She wanted Ziauddin to be proud of her in every respect.
As time went on it became more dangerous for Malala to continue her education; however, that didn’t stop her because she was as determined to learn as her father was. The more Fazlullah and the Taliban proclaimed that woman shouldn’t get an education, the more Malala knew she must because it wasn’t until somebody tried to take her pen away did she “realize quite how important education was” (160). It didn’t matter where Malala was when she was learning because they could stop her from “going to school (161), but they could never extinguish the flame that had ignited in her for her thirst for knowledge.
Ziauddin backed up her enthusiasm to continue to learn by telling her, “You will go to school” (161). Ziauddin did not only play a big role in Malala’s love for education, but his support the reason she did not fear breaking the status quo. He wasted no time in making this evident to Malala from a young age. I don’t think anybody in her family knew just how much she would stand out from society. Her father didn’t want society to rule his daughter instead he wanted her to “be as free as a bird” (26). Malala took this idea and ran with it and never looked back.
When Malala was younger instead of helping her mother in the kitchen and around the house, she would instead go and sit by her father and his friends and listen to them discuss issues. Malala didn’t want to be the traditional woman and become either a doctor, teacher, or take up her role in society rather she wanted to become a politician or an inventor (7). As she got older she refused to cover up and her father made it a case not to tell her she must. Soon she was the only one out of her classmates whose “face was not covered” (9). Malala became more defiant to the customs as she got older.
Her father continued to support and protect her so that she might “carry on with her dreams” (68). As Malala and her classmates entered puberty, the time they should observe purdah, her father encouraged her to continue her education which meant breaking the status quo that they should instead of leaving school (141). In Malala’s culture, woman were to be silent and hidden away, yet Malala spoke out and became known for her fight for education for all people (216). Her father was proud of her as she continued to have the courage to follow her dreams, breaking society’s norms for woman.
As a result of Malala breaking the status quo, she was making a difference in the world. Ziauddin inspired her to continue to try to make a change just as he had been doing. Malala started this journey by following in her father’s footsteps and becoming good at delivering speeches. She is humble and does for others. She even asked “God to give her strength and courage and make her prefect because she wants to make the world perfect” (89). She also asked her father if he would give free places at the school to the scavenger children (81).
She wanted so much for others to have the chance and support that her father had given her that she began doing interviews and speaking out for all to have education. Malala not only began doing interviews, but she also began writing a diary to help others understand what it was like “living under the Taliban” (154). As time went on Malala became more comfortable in undertaking more tasks for speaking out against the Taliban. Malala believed with her whole heart that if “one man, Fazlullah, can destroy everything, why can’t one girl change it? ” (142). She began getting invites to galas and to talk about her experiences and goals.
She even became such an advocate for girls’ rights that Pakistan awarded her the “first ever National Peace Prize” (215). She continued doing for others during this time by “wanting to start an education foundation” (217). The more influential Malala became, the more dangerous her life was. The threats were coming more often, and they weren’t only directed at her father but also Malala. Ziauddin feared for her safety and considered stopping the campaign of speaking out for girls’ rights to keep Malala safe. Malala, who was taught to be courageous and to be strong by her father, didn’t understand how he could even consider such an option.
She said to him that “you were the one who said if we believe in something greater than our lives, then our voices will only multiply even if we are dead” (224, 225). She continued trying to make a difference even if it cost her her life because “this was the war she was going to fight” (217). Malala’s fight almost cost her her life, but much like her fight for girls’ rights, she continued to fight for her life. It took strength, courage, and the will power of her whole heart to get through the life changing event.
Malala’s father was the underlying reason I believe that she lived because she took everything he taught her and the support he gave her and let it be her fuel. She was determined to continue to make a difference as she felt her fight wasn’t over yet. She still had much left to learn both in life and in school. As Malala once said, “Education is education. We should learn everything and then choose a path to follow. Education is neither Eastern nor Western, it is human” (162). She is still making a difference in the world thanks to the influence, encouragement, and inspiration her father continuously gives her.
