Book Review - I Am Malala

The other day we were at my Aunty and Uncle's house. I was playing with my youngest cousin when out of the corner of my eye I spotted this book. I had been desperate to get my hands on it and so was very excited when I was allowed to borrow it.

I had mentioned to a few of my friends that I was reading Malala Yousafzai's book and the most popular response was "Who?". So for those of you who don't know, Malala Yousafzai is a 17 year old girl from Pakistan. She openly campaigned for the right to education for all children, particularly girls. Shockingly, she was shot in the head by the Taliban, on her way home from school in 2012. But Malala came back fighting and is now an international figure fighting for education worldwide. She even spoke at the United Nations on her 16th birthday! I went with Girls' Brigade to the Southbank Centre in London to watch her speech via a live feed and was totally in awe of her and her courage to stand up for what she believed was right.

Malala speaking at the UN

In the book, Malala describes her life in Swat - the province she grew up in with her family. Her father is the Headmaster of her school and is her biggest supporter, always encouraging her to use her voice.

Malala's story is incredible. She describes how her life changed under the Taliban and the oppression they brought upon her community and country. Yet Malala continued to speak out about a girl's right to education and still attended school despite the threat of attack.

I certainly would recommend that you read this book, or at least Google Malala and find out a bit more about her and her Malala Fund.

Education for girls is something I am very passionate about. I love the above quote - "a girl with a book". Educating girls is so important and there is so much potential behind investing in a girl. Across the world, there are 65 million girls out of school (Source: UNESCO/Plan International). To put that into perspective, there are 63 million people living in the UK. That's the equivalent of every single person living in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales (plus an extra 2 million!) being denied an education, leaving them illiterate and with limited options for where their life will take them. Just imagine how much those 65 million girls could change and improve the world if they were just given the chance. Educating a girl empowers her to actively seek change in her community and in the wider world.

Getting girls into school is not just an expenditure. An increase of only 1% in girls secondary education attendance, adds 0.3% to a country's GDP. (Source: Plan International) So educating a girl will not only improve her life but improve the economy of the entire country. What's not to like?

A child should not be defined by their gender. Whether girl or boy, they should be cherished, loved and empowered. Given the platform from which they can be inspired to change their worlds, and in turn the rest of the world, for the better. Education is a basic human right to which we should grant to everyone.