I Am Malala is the autobiography of Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani teenager who wants to change the world. Growing up in an unconventional family, Malala learns that education is the key not only to freedom and success but also to safety in a volatile world. As a young Pakistani girl, she knows she has few choices. Most girls begin to observe purdah at fifteen years old. In this practice, women segregate from men even in their own homes. They cover their heads and faces with a veil or burqa when they are out. They eventually marry and spend their lives serving their husbands and children. Malala respects this path a great deal as her own mother chose it. Even though her parents’ marriage is not an ordinary Pashtun relationship of subservience, Malala’s mother Toor Pekai is the backbone of the family and the heart of the home. But Malala does not want to follow this rigid path. More importantly, she wants other girls to have more choices as they grow up. She knows that education is necessary to achieve the freedom to make these choices. Malala’s largest conflict in the book is against the cultural forces that try to deprive girls of an education.

Following in her father’s footsteps, Malala becomes involved in education activism. Ziauddin teaches her that Pakistan has suffered so much at the hands of untrustworthy politicians and leaders because the people are not educated enough to defend themselves. He sees this shortfall not only in academics but in their study of Islam as well. Both Malala and her father reference the distortion of the Quran, the holy book of Islam, several times. Extremist Muslims often use misleading verses from the Quran to validate their actions. The common people of Pakistan do not know the book well enough to identify the hypocrisy and know that they are being deceived. Malala is determined to help Pakistani girls grow up in a freer, more stable world so they cannot be fooled and robbed of their freedom. These lessons help Malala and understand the stakes of losing access to education.

In the first few chapters, Malala describes her home life. She is a favored child from the time of her birth. Malala has a close bond with her parents, and they feel that she is destined to have a different kind of life. Malala knows her family history and her Pashtun heritage well. She relates the rocky beginnings of Pakistan as a country and three bloody wars with India. She laments that her beloved country has seemingly always been in conflict. When she is eight years old, Malala’s village begins to change. Maulana Fazlullah launches a radio station that seems innocuous at first. Knowing better, Ziauddin warns that the “Radio Mullah” is dangerous. Over the next two years, Fazlullah’s ideas become more extreme, and he becomes the leader of the Taliban that come to Swat Valley in 2007. Malala’s peaceful home will never be the same. By summarizing the history of Pakistan and including herself and Fazlullah, Malala suggests that her fight for equal education is an important part of her country’s history.

One of Fazlullah’s dictates is that girls’ schools will close in Swat Valley in January of 2009. He says they are haram, or forbidden, by Islam. This constitutes a major conflict for Malala because the rule will push her further away from her goal. Education is the single most important thing in Malala’s life because her future and her activism are completely dependent on it. She has vowed to spend her life in pursuit of access to education for all girls, but now her own access to education is threatened. She and her classmates vow that they will not put their education on hold due to the Taliban. The initial absence of the military during the Taliban takeover angers Ziauddin and Malala. The government knows the Taliban terrorizes people, and yet it does nothing to stop them. In fact, when the army is finally sent into Swat Valley, the violence intensifies. The military occupation lasts for over a year, during which the family experiences a constant state of terror, and Malala is held back from pursuing her goal.

The Taliban proves to be the biggest obstacle blocking Malala from her goal of an education. The usually practical and focused Malala confesses that during this time, she wishes to invent a machine that would destroy the Taliban’s weapons.  This e reveals Malala’s hopelessness in the face of the Taliban. She has returned to school, but only because she and some of her classmates pretend to be a year younger. Even their refuge of school is no longer safe. Some of Malala’s classmates stop attending, but despite her fear, Malala refuses to allow the Taliban to scare her out of her education. Finally, the violence becomes too much, and Malala and her family, along with millions of other Pakistanis, flee Swat Valley and become internally displaced persons (IDPs).

During the family’s displacement and after their return to Mingora, Malala has the opportunity to travel to other cities and learn about the independence women enjoy outside of Swat Valley. This new information serves to reignite Malala’s strength to fight. She wants desperately to enjoy this same freedom and ensure it for others so she stays on the path toward this goal even as she begins to receive threats. Ziauddin has received several threats since the Taliban have taken over, so Malala is not shocked when she receives them. Malala’s calm reveals her growing comfort in her role as a disrupter. Toor Pekai becomes concerned about her daughter’s high-profile work. However, when her parents ask Malala if she would like to go to boarding school in another city, she refuses. Malala has accepted that standing up for the rights of others is her duty, and God will protect her and her work.

Malala has proven her dedication to her cause many times, but the shooting serves as the climax of her autobiography. Despite her confidence, Malala admits that she always quietly feared being attacked on her way to school, and on October 9, 2012, Malala is shot on her way home from school. She endures months of pain and uncertainty, but she survives. In January of the following year, she returns to school and family life in a new place. She and her family live in England. While Malala is again displaced, she continues to work toward her goal, and now she has fewer restrictions holding her back. In fact, by attacking her, the Taliban brings Malala’s work international notoriety. With her “second life,” she is more motivated than ever to give back to the people who saved her with their prayers. She will continue to work and not be defined by her brutal attack. She will be known as the “girl who fought for education.” Because despite all odds, she defeated the cultural forces that attempted to deprive her of an education.