My favorite book I've read this year has to be I am Malala. I highly recommend you read it! I couldn't put it down.
As an American, every day we hear about terrorism and the growing tension between our country and Pakistan. Malala's book does an excellent job at painting a detailed landscape of what it's like to live daily with the Taliban in your neighborhood. With so much misunderstanding in our culture about Islam, Malala a devout Muslim, defends her faith yet criticizes the complexities of how it's manifested in her world. American readers can gain a better understanding of Pakistan, Islam, and more importantly our nation's need to seriously evaluate our use of drones.
As someone who clung to my books and always wanted to be at the top of my class, I deeply connected with Malala's story. She just wanted to study and learn so she could best use her talents to help her society. Every person on the planet has the right to develop themselves and apply their talents. Your gender or what country you were born in should not change that. In the United States, our founders proudly declared this as "Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness."
I believe in Malala's vision of education for girls and boys everywhere. This is absolutely possible. It's not a disease in need of discovering a cure. It's a societal problem that the world has the capacity to solve.
We can all play our part in that solution. First, educate yourself and learn from Malala's story. Read her book. She co-founded an organization The Malala Fund so please follow them on Facebook and Twitter and consider making a donation. You can also support local girls in your community as a volunteer.
Happy Holidays and thanks so much for reading this blog! Cheers to the power of young women and girls!
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