IXL | Analyze passages from I Am Malala: Part 1

Read the following passage from I Am

Malala.

In this excerpt, Malala describes living in Pakistan while it was being bombed by a terrorist group called the Taliban.

I had grown up hearing the word terrorism, but I never really understood what it meant. Until now. Terrorism is different from war—where soldiers face one another in battle. Terrorism is fear all around you. It is going to sleep at night and not knowing what horrors the next day will bring. It is huddling with your family in the center-most room in your home because you've all decided it's the safest place to be. It is walking down your own street and not knowing whom you can trust. [ . . . ]

Our family tried to carry on as normal, but we were tense all the time. Bombings became such a regular part of our daily lives that we fell into a routine every time we heard a blast. We called to one another to make sure everyone was safe. "Khaista, pisho, bhabi, Khushal, Atal!" we cried. Then we listened for the sirens. Then we prayed.

This kind of random terror made us do strange things. My father started taking a different route home each evening in case someone was studying his routine. My mother avoided the market, and my brothers stayed inside on even the sunniest days. And since I had been in the kitchen both times there were blasts near our house, I stayed as far from that room as possible. But how can a person live when she is afraid of a room in her own home? How can a mother buy food for her family if the market is a war zone? How can children gather for a game of cricket if a bomb could go off under their feet?

Nighttime was the worst. When darkness fell, we all startled at every creak and jumped at every shadow. Nighttime was when Fazlullah's men carried out most of their attacks—especially the destruction of schools. So every morning, before I rounded the corner on the way to the Khushal School, I closed my eyes and said a prayer—afraid to open them in case the school had been reduced to rubble overnight. This was what terrorism felt like. [ . . . ]

One night, when a blast hit especially close to our home, I went to my father's side. "Are you scared now?" I asked.

"At night our fear is strong, jani," he said. "But in the morning, in the light, we find our courage again."

What is this passage mainly about?

It is about the varied forms of terrorism in different parts of the world.

It is about the ways Malala's family started to fight back against terrorism.

It is about the fear Malala and her family experienced because of the threat of terrorism.

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question

Read the following passage from I Am

Malala.

In this excerpt, Malala Yousafzai describes her experiences and thoughts about living as a young Muslim girl in Pakistan.

My mother and the women would gather on our veranda at the back of the house and cook and laugh and talk about new clothes, jewelry, and other ladies in the neighborhood, while my father and the men would sit in the men's guest room and drink tea and talk politics.

I would often wander away from the children's games, tip-toe through the women's quarters, and join the men. That, it seemed to me, was where something exciting and important was happening. I didn't know what it was, exactly, and I certainly didn't understand the politics, but I felt a pull to the weighty world of the men. I would sit at my father's feet and drink in the conversation. I loved to hear the men debate politics. But mostly I loved sitting among them, hypnotized by this talk of the big world beyond our valley.

Eventually I'd leave the room and linger awhile among the women. The sights and sounds in their world were different. There were gentle, confiding whispers. Tinkling laughter sometimes. Raucous, uproarious laughter sometimes. But most stunning of all: The women's headscarves and veils were gone. Their long dark hair and pretty faces—made up with lipstick and henna—were lovely to see.

I had seen these women nearly every day of my life observing the code of purdah, where they cover themselves in public. Some, like my mother, simply draped scarves over their faces; this is called niqab. But others wore burqas, long, flowing black robes that covered the head and face, so people could not even see their eyes. Some went so far as to wear black gloves and socks so that not a bit of skin was showing. I'd seen the wives be required to walk a few paces behind their husbands. I'd seen the women be forced to lower their gaze when they encountered a man. And I'd seen the older girls who'd been our playmates disappear behind veils as soon as they became teenagers.

But to see these women chatting casually—their faces radiant with freedom—was to see a whole new world. [ . . . ]

Living under wraps seemed so unfair—and uncomfortable. From an early age, I told my parents that no matter what other girls did, I would never cover my face like that. My face was my identity. My mother, who is quite devout and traditional, was shocked. Our relatives thought I was very bold. (Some said rude.) But my father said I could do as I wished. "Malala will live as free as a bird," he told everyone.

What is this passage mainly about?

It is about political discussions in Malala's community and why they were valued by both men and women.

It is about the clothing worn in Malala's community and how it differed from clothing worn elsewhere.

It is about the different roles for men and women in Malala's community and how she felt about them.

solution

The passage discusses the following ideas:

Malala observed how the men gathered and discussed politics.
Malala reflected on how the women dressed and behaved more freely in private than they did in public.
Malala told her parents she didn't plan to wear a traditional face covering when she was older.

So, the passage is mainly about the different roles for men and women in Malala's community and how she felt about them.

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