I Am Malala: How One Girl Stood Up for Education and Changed the World (Young Readers Edition)

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. Malala was born in Pakistan, a country with a predominantly patriarchal culture. Define “patriarchal.” How do you think life might be different for men and women in a patriarchal culture? Consider their status and their rights. How do you think Pakistani culture differs from that of the United States and other Western countries? In what ways might it be similar?

Teaching Suggestion: Guide students to understand that in a patriarchal culture, women are typically less valued than men and have limited access to jobs and education because of their gender. Fighting Against Gender Inequality is an important theme in Malala’s memoir.

• Educators 4 Social Change offers many helpful resources for teaching about patriarchy, including lesson plans and articles.

2. The Taliban are a militant, Islamic fundamentalist organization that controls and enforces religious order. They forbid things they deem “Western” like music, clothing, and movies, and are especially restrictive towards women’s educational rights. What do you imagine life might be like living under their control? How would being unable to get an education impact your future? Watch the embedded video in this Guardian article: “Banned by the Taliban: The Afghan Girls Fighting to Go to School” and discuss.

Teaching Suggestion: Malala devotes herself to ensuring educational rights for all children, especially girls. The Power of Education is a central theme in her memoir. Help students understand that education reduces poverty and offers opportunity and equality. If time, take a deep dive and discuss why the Taliban restrict girls’ education. Explain and discuss sharia law. Share that while progress has been made in Malala’s home country of Pakistan, the Taliban have recently imposed similar restrictions against education in Afghanistan.

• The United States Institute of Peace presents a clear analysis and commentary of the educational situation in Afghanistan in the article “Taliban’s Ban on Girls’ Education in Afghanistan”.
• “Life Under the Taliban: Afghan Women Facing Hardship Six Months On” (2022). This twelve-minute video by France 24, “The 51%”, vividly portrays the new restrictions women face under Taliban rule after the 2021 invasion of Afghanistan. Prescreen for grade-level appropriateness.

Short Activity: Exploring Cultural Differences

Think about what you know about life in Pakistan and about the influence of the Taliban. Explore the two sites below to help build your knowledge base. Discuss any similarities and differences you notice between the Humans of New York: Pakistan site and the cultural video. Brainstorm as a class to create a mind map or KWL Chart (What I Know-What I Want to Know-What I Learned) to connect your background knowledge of these topics. Add answers to your questions, and new queries to your chart.

Humans of New York: Pakistan – Compelling short interviews and evocative photos illuminate the lives of people in Pakistan. Each story offers insight into Pakistani culture.

Pakistan: Culture and Traditions – a look at surface level culture

Teaching Suggestion: Mind maps and other graphic organizers will give you a sense of what your students know about the memoir’s historical time and what additional information they may need. A mind map will also visually help students organize their knowledge and learning. If using a KWL Chart, refer to it during the book study, making sure to address what students wanted to learn, and culminating with a class session filling out the “What I Learned” section.

• Try free mind map software like Mindmup, or Read Write Think’s online K-W-L Creator