I Am Malala

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 operation against Taliban in Swat

July 2009 – Pakistan government declares Taliban cleared from Swat

December 2009 – President Obama announces extra 33,000 troops for Afghanistan, putting total NATO troops at 140,000

2010 – Floods across Pakistan kill 2,000 people

2011 – Governor of Punjab Salman Taseer assassinated; bin Laden killed in Abbottabad; Malala wins Pakistan National Peace Prize

9 October 2012 – Malala shot

May 2013 – Musharraf returns and is arrested; elections go ahead despite Taliban violence; Nawaz Sharif wins to become prime minister for third time

12 July 2013 – Malala addresses UN in New York on her sixteenth birthday and calls for free education for all children

A note on the Malala Fund

My goal in writing this book was to raise my voice on behalf of the millions of girls around the world who are being denied their right to go to school and realise their potential. I hope my story will inspire girls to raise their voice and embrace the power within themselves, but my mission does not end there. My mission, our mission, demands that we act decisively to educate girls and empower them to change their lives and communities.

That is why I have set up the Malala Fund.

The Malala Fund believes that each girl, and boy, has the power to change the world and that all she needs is a chance. To give girls this chance, the Fund aspires to invest in efforts that empower local communities, develop innovative solutions that build upon traditional approaches, and deliver not just basic literacy but the tools, ideas and networks that can help girls find their voice and create a better tomorrow.

I hope that all of you will join this cause so that we can work together to make girls’ education and empowerment a true priority once and for all. Please join my mission.

Find out more at www.malalafund.org

Join the conversation at www.facebook.com/MalalaFund and www.twitter.com/MalalaFund

Picture Section

^{As a baby}

^{With my brother Khushal in Mingora}

^{My father’s friend Hidayatullah holding me inside our first school building}

^{My maternal grandfather, Malik Janser Khan, in Shangla}

^{My father’s childhood home}

^{Our paternal grandfather, Baba, with me and Khushal in our house in Mingora}

^{Reading with my brother Khushal}

^{With Khushal, enjoying the waterfall in Shangla}

^{A school picnic}

^{Assembly prayers at Khushal School}

^{At the beginning, people gave lots of money to Fazlullah}

^{The Taliban publicly whipped people}

^{Making a speech to honour the people killed in the Haji Baba suicide attack}

^{Performing in a play at school}

^{Painting at school}

^{A picture I painted when I was twelve, just after we came back to Swat from being IDPs. It shows the dream of interfaith harmony.}

^{In our garden in Mingora, building a snowman with Atal}

^{Visiting Spal Bandi, where my father stayed while he studied}

^{At school reading a story: ‘All That Glitters Is Not Gold’}

^{At the tomb of Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan}

^{My father and the elders of Swat}

^{School bombing}

^{The bus where I was shot}