Are you studying ‘I Am Malala’ for English and need help writing up your analysis? We’re here to make things a little easier for you — we’ll take you through a step-by-step analysis of I Am Malala and take you through a summary, important figures and themes!
PLUS we’ll provide you with a sample analysis table and a sample paragraph for I Am Malala!
Ready to get started? Let’s go!
Summary of I Am Malala
Important Figures in I Am Malala
Context of I Am Malala
Key Ideas in I Am Malala
How I Am Malala Links to Texts and Human Experiences
How to Analyse I Am Malala in 3 Steps
Sample Band 6 Paragraph and Analysed Examples
Summary of I Am Malala
I Am Malala tells the story of Malala Yousafzai, a girl who grew up in the Swat Valley of Pakistan. Part One of the novel narrates Malala’s upbringing in the Swat Valley, describing both its problems, including unequal rights for girls, and its beauty.
Part Two of the novel outlines the rise of the Taliban in Pakistan. It speaks of Fazlullah, the leader of the Tehreek-e-Taliban in the Swat Valley and his radio show he used to condemn music and dancing and instruct women to stay in the home. Malala also tells the story of her school being shut down by the Taliban and their repression of female education.
What did the Taliban do to Malala?
The third section of the book describes the Swat Valley after the Pakistani army have fought off the Taliban. Malala becomes an activist for female education, giving speeches in Islamabad and receives awards for her activism. However, her father is receiving death threats for speaking out against the Taliban, and on the 9th of October, 2012, Malala is shot on a bus, along with two of her friends.
How did Malala survive being shot?
Part Four of the novel describes Malala’s time in Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham. Here, she received surgery to repair her facial nerve and in 2013 she received surgery for a Cochlear Implant. After her surgery, she moves to an apartment in England, however describes how she misses living in the Swat Valley.
Important Figures in I Am Malala
There are a lot of different figure in I Am Malala, and it’s pretty tricky to keep track of them all. That’s why we’ve made this super helpful list!
Malala Yousafzai
Malala is the first person protagonist of the book who fights for female education and is ultimately shot in the head by the Taliban.
Ziauddin Yousafzai
Ziauddin Yousafzai is Malala’s father. He struggles with a stutter despite his love of words and poetry. However, he turned words into his strength, speaking publicly about the importance of education for all.
Toor Pekai
Toor Pekai is Malala’s mother. She is “very pious and prays five times a day.” She sings to the birds and makes extra food so there is enough for the poor in Malala’s village.
Khushal
Khushal is Malala’s brother, who she describes fighting with often. He shares a name with the school started by Ziauddin, both named after the warrior poet, Khushal Khan Khattack, from Akora, Southof Swat.
Malka e-Noor
Malka is Malala’s classmate and rival to achieve the top marks at school.
Rohul Amin
Rohul Amin is Malala’s Grandfather, who she also calls Baba. He was known to fly nito rages often and was also famous for giving speeches.
Benazir Bhutto
Benazir Bhutto is the first female Prime Minister in Pakistan and in the Islamic world. She served from 1988 to 1990 and from 1993 to 1996. Malala looks up to her as a role model.
Mualana Fazlullah
Mualana Fazlullah is the leader of the Taliban who took over the Swat Valley. He also had a radio station which broadcast every day, warning people to “stop listening to music, watching movies and dancing.”
Context of I Am Malala
The Taliban’s invasion of The Swat Valley is the central world event that influenced I Am Malala. You can read a news report from the time of the occupation here. Since the publication of I Am Malala, Malala Yousafzai has spoken all over the world, continuing her activism for women’s rights to education. She spoke before the United Nations in July 2013, Harvard University in September and then met with Barack Obama in October. 
In 2014 she won the Nobel Peace Prize and is the youngest Nobel Laureate.
Key Ideas and Quotes in I am Malala
The importance of Speech
Our words were like the eucalyptus blossoms of spring tossed away on the wind.
One one level, this refers to the way that Malala perceives her words to be intangible and transitory, incapable of engendering change. However, on a deeper level, Malala’s statement suggests that one day the ideas of her words may land somewhere else and take root, sprouting new life.
“How can we do that?” I replied. “You were the one who said if we believe in something greater than our lives, then our voices will only multiply even if we are dead. We can’t disown our campaign!”
Malala says this after her father suggests ceasing their campaign and going “into hibernation for a time”. Here, we can see Malala’s emphasis on the idea of a ‘voice.’ She suggests that an individual voice can transcend oneself by “multiplying even if we are dead.”
Fear as a means of control
Policemen were so scared of being killed that they took out adverts in the newspapers to announce they had left the force.
This example of fear provided by Malala, shows us a horrifying reversal of roles within society. Despite the fact that policemen are supposed to protect society, the horrors of the Taliban occupation meant that they were the ones fleeing.
“…the authorities, like most people, did nothing.”
People’s fear and even support of the Taliban meant that they didn’t fight back against the unjust rule of the Taliban. This links to another theme in I am Malala – the idea that, particularly those in positions of power, refusing to speak out about injustice perpetuates oppression.
Importance of independent critical thought
But you just use him to learn the literal meaning of the words; don’t follow his explanations and interpretation. Only learn what God says, His words are divine messages, which you are free and independent to interpret.
Here, Ziauddin contrasts blindly following others to thinking critically for oneself. He suggests that the Quran should be read through one’s own interpretation, rather than the interpretations of a teacher.
Today we all know education is our basic right. Not just in the West; Islam too has given us this right. Islam says every girl and every boy should go to school. In the Quran it is written, God wants us to have knowledge, He wants us to know why the sky is blue and about oceans and stars. I know it’s a big struggle – around the world there are fifty-seven million children who are not in primary school, thirty-two million of them girls.
Here, Malala is trying to demolish the idea that she is just imposing Western ideas onto Pakistani culture. Instead, she shows how the importance of education is deeply ingrained into her culture through religious writings. We also see how she is using her own critical thought to interpret the Quran.
Links to Texts and Human Experiences
Before you start studying for I Am Malala, it’s crucial that you read the syllabus so you know exactly what you’re looking for. It’s important that you can answer a question on anything that is highlighted below:
Link #1: Anomalies, Paradoxes and Inconsistencies in human behaviour and motivations
Malala is an anomaly within her culture throughout I Am Malala. When most people within her society refused to speak out against the Taliban, she did. She also challenges the beliefs within her culture which say girls shouldn’t be educated.
Because Malala and her father chose to speak openly, criticising the Taliban, Malala was shot. This shows that whilst it is important to fight for what you believe in, being an anomaly carries with it the risk of severe consequences.
Link #2: Seeing the world differently
I Am Malala invites us into a culture which most Australians know very little about. By describing Swat Valley’s occupation by the Taliban, Malala shows us what it’s like to live in a society where people fear for their lives every day. She broadens out understanding of the world by describing the lack of freedoms, the destruction of culture and the means by which Pakistani people are controlled.
Despite all these differences, Malala shows us how her life is not that different to an Australian teenager. She plays sports, watches TV and studies hard at school. Through creating a voice which is accessible to teenagers all around the world, she shows the tragedy of the Taliban’s occupation is real. Teenagers can imagine themselves in her situation, engendering empathy for other cultures.
Link #3: The role of storytelling throughout time
Malala grew up hearing the stories of the history of her culture. She was told about the gun battles of her great grandfather, Malalai Maiwan, whom she was named after, stories and Pashto couplets from the older women in her village and the ghost stories of her aunts. Malala interweaves the stories from her culture into her own, showing how our own stories are connected with our ancestors.
How to Analyse I Am Malala in 3 Steps
Students often spend a lot of time thinking about thesis statements and topic sentences for their essays, and while these things are important, analysis is the building block of any strong essay. Analysis is important because it allows you to dig out the deeper meaning of your texts and leads you to stronger thesis statements and topic sentences.
That’s why we’re going to show you how to analyse I Am Malala in 4 steps!
Step 1: Identify the technique and example
The best way to find a strong example is through finding a strong technique, which is why we have put identifying a technique and identifying an example in the same step! You want to make sure the technique you find is creating meaning. Weaker techniques might just emphasise an idea that’s already clear, or look pretty!
We have chosen:
The Taliban saw women “as little dolls to control, telling us what to do and how to dress.”
Learn more about techniques you can identify in English texts here!
Step 2: Analyse the immediate effect of the technique.
The first step in any analysis is to look at the immediate effect of a technique. This means probing the words for any interesting connotations or looking for the way the language is doing something unique or important. In the example we have chosen, we have said:
The metaphor of a doll connotes an entire lack of agency over one’s body and oneself – a doll can only be moved by another agent.
Step 3: Link to a broader concept
This broader concept may be a theme, your topic sentence or a thesis statement, depending on what stage of essay writing you are at.
The broader idea we have linked our example and analysis to is:
At the core of the Taliban’s strategy of control, Yusafzai argues, is the removal of agency from individuals.
This links directly to the topic sentence have used in the video and sample paragraph, which is that:
The Taliban target the intrinsic human qualities of individual’s agency over their own lives, as well as the culture which contributes to communal identity in the Swat Valley.
Sample Paragraph and Analysed Examples
We’ve analysed another two examples for this text which you can access below!
We’ve also created a sample paragraph that you can use to inspire you to write your own Band 6 response to I Am Malala.
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Brooklyn Arnot has a Bachelor of Arts majoring in English Literature with Honours at the University of Sydney. She scored an HD average and has even received the Dean’s award for excellence! Brooklyn teaches our English classes at Art of Smart and has over 5 years of experience supporting Year 11 and 12 students throughout their HSC. She’s also a new Syllabus expert and studied 4U English in high school.
