I read each word of ‘I am Malala’ exclusively in the bus I take to commute from my apartment in Hosa Road Junction (Electronic City limits) to my office in Cunningham Road. The journeys are tiring with long traffic jams and for me, that’s the best time to read. I took a little more than a month to complete the book and some of my friends rightly asked me why I took so long. But, I took my time as I was not only reading the lines but reading between them as well. I immersed myself into the book and into Malala, so much so that I used to feel a part of the Swat Valley, the place she is from.
The person who shot Malala was reportedly a university science student in his early 20s named Ataullah Khan. The book describes that Ataullah Khan had shot three bullets one after another. The first went through her left eye socket and out under her left shoulder. “I slumped forward into Moniba, blood coming from my left ear, so the other two bullets hit the girls next to me. One bullet went to Shazia’s left hand. The third went Shazia’s left shoulder and into the upper right arm of Kainat Riaz,” writes Malala.
Malala’s description of the shooting episode makes one contemplate. A professional and trained Taliban fires three bullets from point blank range and doesn’t manage to kill his target. There could be two reasons for this. Without being sympathetic towards Ataullah Khan, there is a possibility he deliberately chose not to kill her. “My friends later told me the gunman’s hand was shaking as he fired,” Malala recollects. The killer’s hand might have been shivering out of nervousness or a feeling of remorse that passed across him at that moment. After all, the killer was a young educated boy who was only brainwashed into Talibanisation. The other and the more possible reason of course was that Malala could have just been lucky.
The book also throws light into the differences that exist in the Muslim world – between the Sunnis and the Shias. “We share the same fundamental beliefs and the same Holy Quran but we disagree over who was the right person to lead our religion when the Prophet died in the seventh century,” writes Malala. The argument dates back to the death of Islam’s founder, the Prophet Muhammad in 632. The majority backed Abu Bakr, a close friend and advisor of the Prophet, who was chosen to be the leader. This majority went on to be known as the Sunnis and today make up 80% of Muslims. But a smaller group, known as Shias today, believed that leadership should have stayed within the Prophet’s family and that Ali, his son-in-law and cousin should have taken over.
The underlying differences between the Sunnis and the Shias is an indication that there are lots of serious and more practical challenges yet to be solved within Pakistan and the community rather than the self-proclaimed problems by the Taliban – such as girls going to schools or watching Bollywood movies.
One of the most horrific movements mentioned in the book was the Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM). Maulana Fazlullah had taken over the movement after its founder Sufi Mohammad was imprisoned in 2002. Fazlullah put a ban on almost all aspects of life that symbolised freedom. He banned women from going out alone, girls from going to school, and people from watching the television or entertaining themselves through moves and music. He even closed beauty parlours and banned shaving. Fazlullah made jokes about the army referring to Pakistani government officials as ‘infidels’. His men patrolled the streets and anyone who didn’t follow his rules would be whipped in public.
On October 9, 2012, a Taliban shot Malala on her head hoping to forever shut the voice that spoke for freedom. But she miraculously survived and didn’t let fear stop her at any point in time. Today, she is even more determined in her fight for peace, freedom and women’s rights in the Valley. The book is an inspiration to all human beings regardless of caste, gender or religion. Let’s all work together with Malala to make this world a better and safer place.
(I have also spotted some typos and language errors in the book but that's not the scope or the objective of this analysis)
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