I Am Malala is a memoir written by Malala Yousafzai, with the assistance of British journalist and author Christina Lamb, and published in 2013. The story follows a young Malala living in Swat, Pakistan, whose outspoken advocacy for girls’ rights to education makes her a target for the Taliban, an Islamic fundamentalist political and military organisation who gradually take over the area, and whose limits on the role of women becomes increasingly more fanatical.

Malala’s childhood is portrayed as a happy one, and despite being raised in a society which limits the role of women, is raised by her parents to believe the opposite. When she is born, her father, Ziauddin, places her name on the family tree, a position usually reserved for the men in the family, and nicknames her Jani Mun, or soulmate. Malala is named after Malalai of Maiwand, an Afghan folk hero who rallied local Pashtun fighters against the British troops in the 1880 Battle of Maiwand.

Ziauddin and Malala’s grandfather are both teachers, and Malala attends the school her father builds and, alongside other female students, aspires for greater participation in society. This is despite the very real and restrictive context within which the girls and women live; women are not permitted to be outdoors without a male relative and girls are not encouraged to attend school. Ziauddin is vocal about his beliefs on educational equality, as well as the environment and the government, and desires to bring positive change to his country, all of which make him a target of the Taliban. Malala’s mother is uneducated, unable to read or write, but helps her husband in his goal to make education accessible to all young people, and eventually takes lessons herself.

Malala and the people of the Swat Valley face many challenges over the course of the book, including an earthquake, the Taliban takeover, a military operation, and severe flooding which culminates in widespread loss of human life as well as the destruction of infrastructure and culture. The beliefs for which Malala and her family advocate on women’s rights and education not only place them in a precarious situation with the Taliban but with the community, who increasingly pressure them to stop their advocacy out of fears for community safety.

On the way home from school one day, Malala is shot in the head but survives and, after initial emergency treatment in her own country, is flown to a British hospital for aftercare and rehabilitation. Malala’s parents and her two younger brothers join Malala in England shortly after, having had to remain behind to secure their travel documents. The family are yet to return to their beloved home for safety reasons. Responsibility for the attack on Malala was claimed by the Taliban, who also left two of her classmates injured, and the man responsible for the attack has never been held to justice.

I am Malala received positive critical reception outside of Pakistan and was translated into more than 40 languages. It was a 2013 New York Times Best Seller and the recipient of several awards including Popular Non-Fiction Book of the Year in the British National Book Awards for 2013. In Pakistan, the book has been banned in many schools and resulted in a Taliban death threat against Malala and the targeting of stores that sell her book.