LET HER FLY

Malala Yousafzai’s father shares the story of his life as well as how he reared his daughter to be a powerful, courageous human being.

Ziauddin Yousafzai grew up in Pakistan’s Swat Valley in a strictly patriarchal culture that deemed men more valuable than women, who were treated as little more than unpaid domestic help. Because his family had no connections or industry, the author recognized education as his best and only chance. “This is what my life has felt like: reaching towards something, finding it, and learning it from scratch,” he writes. As a teenager, he began to question the gender roles that had been ingrained in him since birth. Though unaware of the term “feminism,” he had the innate belief that women should be treated as equal. The author writes to offer encouragement and proof of the many rewards to be had when fighting for change. Faced with a serious speech impediment as a boy, he entered speaking competitions and came out victorious, to the surprise of everyone who had mocked him. The author points to positive revenge—righting wrongs without hatred—as a principle underpinning his life. As a married father, he resisted the Taliban’s attempts to shut down schools and continued running the one he had established, the Khushal School, which Malala attended. When she was treated unjustly by boys and other men, he never berated them. Instead, he led by example. “I acted upon the things I believed in,” he writes. “It is such a good starting point.” His activism and steadfast encouragement inspired Malala to follow his stand for equality. In 2012, at age 15, she spoke out against the Taliban, who retaliated by shooting her in the head. She survived and garnered worldwide fame, and she and her father continue their girls’ education campaign. The narrative is simply told but instructive, focusing attention on the importance of change beginning at an individual level.

A straightforward, loving treatise on becoming a man dedicated to uplifting women as equals.