Malala: the amazing story of the girl almost

killed because she wanted an education

Have you heard of Malala? What do you know about her?

Do women have equal rights in your society?

1997

I was born in Pakistan on July 12, 1997.

Parents are not always happy to have a baby girl in Pakistan. But my father wanted me to have the same chances as every boy had.

2008

My father was a teacher. And he was the principal of a girls’ school in our village.

I loved school. But everything changed when the Taliban took control of our town in Swat Valley. The extremists banned many things.  They banned .owning a television and playing music. And they enforced strong punishments for those who defied their orders. And they said girls could no longer go to school.

In January 2008 when I was just 11 years old, I said goodbye to my classmates. I did not know if I would see them again.

2012

I spoke out publicly for girls and our right to learn. And this made me a target.

In October 2012, on my way home from school, a gunman got onto my school bus and asked,

“Who is Malala?” He shot me on the left side of my head.

I woke up 10 days later in a hospital in Birmingham, England.

The doctors and nurses told me about the attack.

And that people around the world were praying for my recovery.

2014

After months of surgeries and rehabilitation, I joined my family in our new home in the U.K.

It was then I knew I had a choice. I could live a quiet life or I could make the most of this new life I had been given. I strongly wanted to continue my fight until every girl could go to school.

My father has always been my supporting friend and inspiration. Together we started Malala Fund. Malala Fund is a charity for giving every girl a chance to achieve a future she chooses. For this work I received the Nobel Peace Prize in December 2014 and became the youngest-ever Nobel prize winner.

2018

Now I am studying Philosophy, Politics and Economics at the University of Oxford.

And every day I fight to ensure all girls receive 12 years of free, safe, quality education.

I travel to many countries to meet girls fighting against being poor, wars, child marriage and gender discrimination. Malala Fund is working so that their stories, like mine, can be heard around the world.

We invest in developing country teachers and those fighting for people like me. We make sure that leaders keep the promises they make to girls.

There are  more than 130 million girls out of school today. There is more work to be done. I hope you will join my fight for education and fairness. Together, we can create a world where all girls can learn and be leaders.

Try to guess the meaning of the words in bold and match them with their closest meaning from the choices in the right. Some of the answers are very close and have similar meaning. The meaning of these words is how they are used in the reading. Some of these words have different meanings in the dictionary depending on how they are used.

 The answers are below the table.

A=5, B=8, C=6, D=1, E=2, F=7,G=4, H=3

Some example sentences using the new words or phrases from the meaning of how they are used in the reading to help you understand better.

1. The winter in northern Russia is extremely cold.

2. Smoking is now banned on all university campuses. The campus police will enforce this rule.

3. He defied all those who said he could not do it by becoming the best.

4. After the surgery you need 6 months of rehabilitiation.

5. Mr Chung was the most inspirational teacher in my life. He told me I could be anybody I wanted to be.

6. If you want to achieve great things you must ensure you work hard.

7. It is wrong to discriminate someone because of their religious beliefs.

Some questions using the new words/phrases. Try to use the words/phrases in your answer.

1. Who should ensure that discrimination for women does not happen?

2. Why do you think some kinds of people want to be extreme in what they believe or do?

3. What things should be banned in school? What things should be allowed?

4. How strictly should employers enforce rules? Or do you think the workers should be trusted to naturally follow rules? Why or why not?

5. Have you ever defied your parents? What happened?

6. If you are very tired and stressed where is the best holiday to get rehabilitation from the stress?

7. Who has been an inspiration to you? How or why?

8. Is there still some discrimination in your society? What or why?