I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban

Reading Check and Short Answer Questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

Prologue-Chapter 3

Reading Check

1. Malala begins the book by saying that Pakistan was created at what time of day?

2. Malala’s father was born with what quality that Malala describes as a “terrible thing” for someone who loved words and poetry so much?

3. Malala’s father rallies against unquestioningly petitioning what controversial book, believed to be anti-Islamic by his peers?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Describe the scene when Malala is born in Chapter 1. What happens that demonstrates that the culture in Swat is a patriarchal one?

2. When Malala’s father was a teenager, he dreamed of being a jihadist. As described in Chapter 2, why did his path in life shift? 

Paired Resource

Malala Yousafzai On Her Life’s Work to Help Girls Around the World

• Malala appears on the TODAY show in 2022 to discuss winning the Catalyst Award, a prize for individuals who use their platform to inspire social action.
• In this clip, Malala discusses the urgent need around promoting knowledge and education, particularly for girls and women, since so many ills of the world are borne from ignorance.
• When you watch this clip, what qualities in Malala remind you of her father and mother’s stories, as presented in the early chapters of I Am Malala?

Chapters 4-8

Reading Check

1. What is the nickname that Malala uses in reference to her paternal grandfather?

2. In Chapter 5, Malala is caught doing what illicit activity, which upsets her mother so much that she refuses to speak to Malala?

3. What is the Arabic word for an Islamic scholar and authority on Islamic law?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. In Chapter 4, Malala describes herself as being different from her cousins. How is she different? Describe the relationship and explain what this indicates about Malala’s character in general.

2. In what ways does Malala’s father help promote peace and education throughout their community? Cite evidence from Chapter 6 to support your answer.

Chapters 9-11

Reading Check

1. In Chapter 9, Malala describes the Taliban as “strange-looking men.” Name one of the physical characteristics in her depiction of them.

2. The Taliban destroys a religious statue, one that had been in the valley since the seventh century. What was the statue?

3. Malala finds motivation by competing with two of her classmates. What are their names?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. The people of Swat Valley, initially, embrace Maulana Fazlullah, the leader of the Taliban. What are some of the ways in which they embrace him and his beliefs?

2. Who was Benazir Bhutto? What is Bhutto’s relationship to Malala and the people of Swat Valley?

Paired Resource

Benazir Bhutto: An Imperfect Feminist

• This American Prospect opinion piece discusses the legacy of Benazir Bhutto, particularly critiquing her fight for women’s empowerment in Pakistan.
• As a powerful champion for women’s rights in a Muslim-majority nation, any discussion of Bhutto’s legacy will involve a discussion around Individual Versus Society.
• From what you’ve read in I Am Malala, do you agree with this article that Bhutto is an “imperfect” feminist?

Chapters 12-15

Reading Check

1. What do the Taliban leave in the town square, sending a warning to the people of Swat Valley about resisting Taliban rule?

2. “Gul Makai” is the pseudonym that Malala uses when communicating with the BBC radio journalist in Chapter 13. What does the name mean?

3. When Malala and her family decide to flee Swat Valley in Chapter 15, they become “IDPs.” What does this acronym stand for?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. As “Gul Makai,” Malala realizes the larger importance of her correspondence with the BBC journalist. What is this lesson and how does it tie to one of the primary themes of the book?

2. Why does Malala pretend to be younger than her actual age in Chapter 14?

Paired Resource

“Who is Pakistani Taliban Leader Mullah Fazlullah?”

• This BBC article takes a closer look at the life and times of Fazlullah, the chief of the Pakistani Taliban, who came to prominence in Pakistan in the 2000s.
• As the face of the Taliban in Swat, Fazlullah represents a force against knowledge (particularly for girls and women), contributing to the book’s overall theme of Knowledge Versus Ignorance.
• Did this article give you any new and/or special insights into Fazlullah that were left out of I Am Malala? Why do you think Yousafzai chose to highlight certain details about Fazlullah and downplay others?

Chapters 16-20

Reading Check

1. In Chapter 16, Malala’s teacher (Madam Maryam) writes to General Abbas to ask for what?

2. Chapter 18 is subtitled “The Woman and the Sea.” Who is the “woman” being referred to here?

3. In Chapter 19, Malala’s father takes one precaution to avoid the Taliban. What is that precaution?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. At 13 years old, Malala stops growing taller. Why does she wish to be tall? What does this say about her overall character?

2. Describe the scene just before Malala is shot in the head by Taliban. What is the last thing she remembers thinking before being struck?

Paired Resource

The 72 Hours That Saved Malala: Doctors Reveal for the First Time How Close She Came to Death

• In this ABC News piece, the doctors who saved Malala explain the extraordinary measures that were taken to save her life post-shooting.
• The doctors reveal that the bullet struck the part of Malala’s brain that controlled speech, a tragic irony given Malala’s belief in the Power of Words.
• In this article, we see Malala’s shooting from an outside perspective. Did reading it give you a new insight into this section of the book?

Chapter 21-Epilogue

Reading Check

1. When Malala’s mother hears a helicopter overhead in Chapter 21, she removes her headscarf and screams what while looking skyward?

2. What prevents Malala’s family from joining her in Birmingham, England?

3. When Malala awakens from her coma, Dr. Javid speaks to her in what language?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why does Malala relate to the book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz?

2. In the final chapters of the book, the father-daughter relationship between Malala and her father is shown to be stronger than ever. What in the text supports this?

Recommended Next Reads 

We Are Displaced: My Journey and Stories from Refugee Girls Around the World by Malala Yousafzai

• Published in 2019, We Are Displaced tells the real stories behind the news statistics and TV spots about the millions of people who are displaced worldwide.
• Yousafzai takes on the immigration crisis as a matter of Knowledge Versus Ignorance in this book. We Are Displaced aims to reveal the truth about the experiences of displaced persons.
• In telling the stories of displaced people around the world, Yousafzai builds on her own story from I Am Malala.
• We Are Displaced on SuperSummary

Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books by Azar Nafisi

• A former teacher at the University of Tehran, Azar Nafisi tells her story of living through the tumultuous period of the post-Iranian Revolution of 1979.
• The memoir centers around a book club Nafisi began with seven other women, all former students of hers, to gather and discuss classic literature. Using literature as the lens through which she views politics and culture, the Power of Words is a key theme throughout the book.
• Like Yousafzai, Nafisi’s core values revolve around female empowerment and educating women throughout the Middle East.
• Reading Lolita in Tehran on SuperSummary