I am Malala

were determined to tell our story in the best way possible.
    Thanks go to Abdul Hai Kakar, my mentor and great friend of my father, who thoroughly reviewed the book, and my father’s friend Inam ul-Rahim for his valuable contributions on the history of our region.
    I would also like to thank Angelina Jolie for her generous contribution to the Malala Fund.
    Thanks to all the teachers of the Khushal School, who have kept the school alive and maintained it in my father’s absence.
    We thank God for the day a lady called Shahida Choudhury walked through our door. She has become an incredible support to our family and we have learned from her the real meaning of being a volunteer.
    Last and not least I would like to thank Moniba for being such a good and supportive friend and my brothers Khushal and Atal for keeping me still a child.
    Malala Yousafzai
    Any foreigner who has had the good fortune to visit Swat will know how hospitable its people are, and I would like to thank everyone who helped me there, particularly Maryam and the teachers and students of the Khushal School, Ahmad Shah in Mingora and Sultan Rome for showing me around Shangla. I would also like to thank General Asim Bajwa, Colonel Abid Ali Askari, Major Tariq and the team at Inter Services Public Relations for facilitating my visit. Thanks also to Adam Ellick for generously sharing his notes.
    In the UK, the staff of Queen Elizabeth Hospital could not have been more helpful, particularly Fiona Alexander and Dr Kayani. My agent David Godwin was wonderful as always, and it was a real privilege to have as editors Judy Clain and Arzu Tahsin. I’m also grateful to Martin Ivens, my editor at the Sunday Times , for allowing me the time for this important project. My husband Paulo and son Lourenço could not have been more understanding as this book took over my life.
    Above all, thanks to Malala and her wonderful family for sharing their story with me.
    Christina Lamb

Important Events in Pakistan and Swat
    14 August 1947 – Pakistan created as the world’s first homeland for Muslims; princely state of Swat joins Pakistan but keeps its special status
    1947 – First Indo-Pakistan War
    1948 – Death of founder of Pakistan, Mohammad Ali Jinnah
    1951 – Pakistan’s first prime minister Liaquat Ali Khan assassinated
    1958 – General Ayub Khan seizes power in Pakistan’s first military coup
    1965 – Second Indo-Pakistan War
    1969 – Swat becomes part of North-West Frontier Province
    1970 – Pakistan’s first national elections held
    1971 – Third Indo-Pakistan War; East Pakistan becomes independent Bangladesh
    1971 – Zulfikar Ali Bhutto becomes first elected prime minister
    1977 – General Zia ul-Haq takes power in military coup
    1979 – Zulfikar Ali Bhutto hanged; Soviet invasion of Afghanistan
    1988 – General Zia and senior army officers killed in plane crash; elections held; Benazir Bhutto becomes first female prime minister in Islamic world
    1989 – Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan complete
    1990 – Benazir Bhutto government dismissed
    1991 – Nawaz Sharif becomes prime minister
    1993 – Nawaz Sharif forced to resign by army; second Benazir Bhutto government
    1996 – Taliban take power in Kabul
    1996 – Second Benazir Bhutto government dismissed
    1997 – Nawaz Sharif forms second government
    1998 – India conducts nuclear tests; Pakistan does same
    1999 – Benazir Bhutto and husband Asif Ali Zardari convicted of corruption; Benazir goes into exile; Zardari jailed; General Pervez Musharraf takes power in coup

    2001 – Al Qaeda 9/11 attacks on World Trade Center and Pentagon; US bombing of Afghanistan starts; Taliban government overthrown; Osama bin Laden escapes to Pakistan
    2004 – Pakistan army starts operation against militants in FATA; first attack on Pakistan by US drone; Zardari goes into exile
    2005 – Maulana Fazlullah starts radio in Swat; massive earthquake in Pakistan kills more than 70,000 people
    2007 – Army storms Red Mosque in Islamabad; Benazir Bhutto returns to Pakistan; Fazlullah sets up Islamic courts; Musharraf sends troops into Swat; launch of Pakistan Taliban; Benazir Bhutto assassinated
    2007–9 – Taliban extend influence across Swat
    2008 – Zardari becomes president; Musharraf goes into exile
    2009 – Fazlullah announces all girls’ schools to close in Swat; Pakistan government agrees peace accord with Taliban; Agreement breaks down as Taliban take over Swat; Pakistan army starts military