Importance of Role Models as Recorded in Malala's Autobiography

Women’s Rights

A theme in the novel is women’s rights and their condition. In Pakistan, the role of the women is to stay in the house and take care of their family. Even if they are allowed to work, it is not easy to choose any profession other than a teacher or a doctor. In the Pashtun society, people are happy when a boy is born and disappointed when a girl is. Even though Malala was born on an auspicious day, her birth was greeted with grief instead of joy by the villagers. Women are often used for trading and solving feuds. Domestic violence and honour killings are a normal part of the society. However, her father has always been against these and wants her to achieve her dreams. He often wrote poems on topics such as honour killings and women’s rights. Even Malala has the same mindset and uses her voice and activism to spread awareness.

Power of Education

The books emphasizes on the importance of education. Education is the key to the freedom do anything one wants to achieve. Her father, Ziauddin Yousafzai, believed that every person irrespective of their gender, wealth etc should have access to schools. Education gives strength to people by giving them knowledge about the right or wrong and also builds self-confidence in them. Malala’s father suffered from stammer from a young age, but despite that he completed his education. He goes on to become a speaker and an important figure in the society which earns him a lot respect. He even opens many schools. Since Malala grow up with around a man like Ziauddin Yousafzai and went to school, she realized how important the education is for one’s life and development. As she grows old, her belief in this becomes more stronger and she becomes more mature. She went to school despite the threat from Taliban, a fundamentalist political organisation, who wanted girls to stop going to school. Malala was shot by a member of Taliban for going to school and standing up for women’s education. At the United Nations, she to calls for the UN resolution to make education universal.

Importance of Role Models

The autobiography also shows how role models are important in influencing one’s thoughts and beliefs. Since the day she was born, Malala has been around good people who are exceptional role models. Her grandfather, Rohul Amin strongly believes in the importance of education and human rights. Ziauddin Yousafzai, Malala’s father, is a speaker and a leader in Swat. He believes that education is a gift and has opened many schools, where he provides free education to those who cannot afford it. He helped people whenever he could. He believes that conflicts can be solved through communication, instead of revenge, which is the Pashtun way of solving problems. He is a man of strong values and morals and is an excellent role model for her. Growing up, Malala also has similar beliefs like her father. Since she was surrounded by such people, she had immense support from them for standing up for education and women’s rights.

Courage

Courage is an important theme in the autobiography. Malala and her father, Ziauddin show immense courage by standing up against the society. Malala Yousafzai is a round character. Malala is passionate about education and equal rights for women and is determined to make make a change in the Pakistani society. Malala is rebellious and goes against the norms of the society. She challenges the way the society says how a woman should behave or act. “Women in the village hid their faces whenever they left their [houses].... I wore more fashionable clothes and didn’t cover my face when I became a teenager” (66). Not only that, she questions other Malala learns from her mistakes easily. She stole toy jewelry from her friends, who she believed to have stolen her phone, and when her acts were revealed, she felt immense guilt and never did such a thing again. “Since that day, I have never lied or stolen. Not a single lie nor a single penny.”(71). She is close to her father and idolizes him. She hates to disappoint him and does everything possible to please him after the incident with her friend. She is sympathetic and cares for the people who are unprivileged. After seeing, children picking up garbage for an earning, she begs her father to allow them to study in his school for free. She always put others before herself. Malala is humble and believes everyone has the potential to achieve something great. Despite receiving awards for her campaign, she stays down to earth. “I knew that any of the girls in my class could have achieved what I had achieved if they had had their parents’ support” (216). She has immense will power. She fights for her life after being shot and won the battle.