This document provides an annotation guide for the novel "I am Malala" covering several key themes, including: 1) Gender roles and the traditional views of women's roles in Malala's society. 2) Love and support that Malala received from her family and teachers in her activism and fight for education. 3) Malala's activism for women's rights, education, and giving voice to the people of Pakistan. The guide also outlines various motifs, symbols, literary devices, and potential lenses for interpreting the novel, such as its political, feminist, religious, and ethical dimensions.

1. I am Malala
Annotation
Guide
A guide to
a n n o t a t i n g t h e
novel

2. Themes
Gender Roles
Corruption
Love AND
Support
Activism

3. • Of Islam and the
teachings within the
Quran
• Of truth through
rumour, conspiracy
and hearsay
• Of the Military
• Of the Government
• Of Malala through
fame
Corruption
“My mother, for example, would say they can’t be
Muslims. Some people call themselves Muslims but
their actions are not Islamic.” (Page 238)

4. Gender Roles • Of fathers (Malala’s
father: Ziauddin
Yousafzai)
• Of mothers (Malala’s
mother: Toor Pekai
Yousafzai)
• Of girls and women in a
societies development
• Of appropriate dress
• Of appropriate behaviour
• The views of society
“When I was born, people in our village commiserated with my mother and
nobody congratulated my father…I was a girl in a land where rifles are fired in
celebration of a son, while daughters are hidden away behind a curtain, their
role in life simply to prepare food and give birth to children” (Yousafzai Page
9)

5. Love AND
Support
“Peace in every home, every street, every village, every country – this is my
dream. Education for every boy and every girl in the world. To sit down on a
chair and read my books with all my friends at school is my right. To see each
and every human being with a smile of happiness is my wish. I am Malala. My
world has changed but I have not” (Yousafzai, Page 265)
• From Malala’s mother
(Malala’s mother: Toor
Pekai Yousafzai)
• From Malala’s father
(Malala’s father:
Ziauddin Yousafzai)
• From teachers
• From political figures

6. Activism
“I don’t want to be thought of as the ‘girl who was
shot by the Taliban’ but the ‘girl who fought for
education.’ This is the cause to which I devote my
life” (Yousafzai Page 261)
• For the world
• For women’s rights
• For education
• For giving a voice to
Pakistan
• By her teachers
• Simple acts of activism

7. Motifs
• The Burqa
• The Swat Valley
• Malala’s Schoolbooks
• Western versus Eastern Culture
• Islam
• Peace
• Clothing
• Competition
• Language
• Fear
• Pashtun Culture

8. Symbols
• Almonds
• Dyna (The School bus)
• Courage
• Buddhas
• Pink

9. Literary Devices
• Juxtaposition
• Foreshadowing
• Irony
• Simile
• Metaphor
• Imagery
• Quotations
• Allusions
• Intertextual References
• Maxims
• Characterisation
• Internal Monologue
Textual Features
• Non-linear narrative
• Epistolary style
• Ghost-written / co-written

10. Different Readings• Colonial & Post-Colonial:
As a colonial country, Pakistan bears the scars of oppression and
overcoming colonial rule.
• Political:
The tensions between traditional Pashtun justice, democracy, freedom
of speech and Taliban and religious law is inherently political.
• Feminist:
Every element of the text is richly feminist and can be viewed most
actively through the lens of the freedom from oppression of women.
• Bildungsroman (Coming of Age)
Malala as the protagonist is in a process of ‘coming-of-age’ and moving
from the world of adolescence to adulthood.
• Religious
The novel makes many comments on religion and the right way of
practicing religion and not misinterpreting the core religious texts.
Compassion is a core element of many religions and something that
Malala values greatly.
• Ethical
One dimension of the religious reading is the concept of behaving
ethically and without fear. Malala seems at all times to have a clear
conscience and does not fear the unethical acts of others.