baba – affectionate term for grandfather or old man

badal – revenge

bhabi – affectionate Urdu term, literally ‘my brother’s wife’

bhai – affectionate Urdu term, literally ‘my brother’

chapati – unleavened flatbread made from flour and water

dyna – open-backed van or truck

FATA – Federally Administered Tribal Areas, region of Pakistan bordering Afghanistan governed under a system of indirect rule started in British times

Hadith – saying or sayings of the Prophet, peace be upon him

Haj – the pilgrimage to Mecca, one of the five pillars of Islam (along with the confession of faith, daily prayer, fasting during Ramadan and alms-giving), which every Muslim who can afford to should perform once in their lifetime

haram – prohibited in Islam

hujra – traditional Pashtun meeting place for men

imam – local preacher

IDP – internally displaced person

ISI – Inter Services Intelligence, Pakistan’s biggest intelligence agency

Jamaat-e-Islami – Party of Islam, Pakistan conservative party

JUI – Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, Assembly of Islamic clergy, Pakistan conservative political party closely linked to the Afghan Taliban which advocates strict enforcement of Islamic law

jani – dear one

jani mun – soulmate

jihad – holy war or internal struggle

jirga – tribal assembly

khaista – handsome one

khan – local lord

KPK – Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, literally ‘Area of Pashtuns’, until 2010 called North-West Frontier Province, one of the four provinces of Pakistan

lashkar – local militia

LeT – Lashkar-e-Taiba, literally ‘Army of the Pure’, one of Pakistan’s oldest and most powerful militant groups, active in Kashmir and with close links to the ISI

madrasa – school for Islamic instruction

maulana, mufti – Islamic scholar

mohalla – district

MQM – Muttahida Qaumi Movement, Karachi-based party representing Muslims who fled India at Partition (1947)

nang – honour

PML – Pakistan Muslim League, conservative political party founded in 1962 as successor to the Muslim League, the only major party in Pakistan at Partition, which was banned in 1958 along with all other parties

PPP – Pakistan People’s Party, centre-left party founded by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in 1967, later led by his daughter Benazir and currently co-chaired by her husband Asif Zardari and their son Bilawal

Pashtunwali – traditional behavioural code of Pashtuns

pir – hereditary saint

pisho – cat

purdah – (of women) segregation or seclusion, wearing the veil

qaumi – national

sabar – patience

shalwar kamiz/salwar kamiz – traditional outfit of loose tunic and trousers worn by both men and women

surah – chapter of the Holy Quran

swara – practice of resolving a tribal feud by handing over a woman or young girl

talib – religious student, but has come to mean member of Taliban militant group

tapa/tapey (plural) – genre of Pashto folk poetry having two lines, the first line with nine syllables, the second with thirteen.

tarbur – literally ‘cousin’, but also ‘enemy’

TNSM – Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e-Sharia-e-Mohammadi, Movement for the Enforcement of Islamic Law, founded in 1992 by Sufi Mohammad, later taken over by his son-in-law Maulana Fazlullah, also known as as the Swat Taliban

TTP – Tehrik-i-Taliban-Pakistan, Pakistan Taliban

Umrah – lesser pilgrimage to Mecca which can be made at any time during the year

Acknowledgements

The last year has shown me both the extreme hatred of man and the limitless love of God. So many people have helped me that it would take a whole new book to name them all here, but I would like to thank everyone in Pakistan and all round the world who prayed for me, all the schoolchildren, students and other supporters who rose when I fell. I am grateful for every petal of the bouquets and every letter of the cards and messages.

I was very lucky to be born to a father who respected my freedom of thought and expression and made me part of his peace caravan, and a mother who not only encouraged me but my father too in our campaign for peace and education.

I have been blessed too with teachers, especially Miss Ulfat, who taught me a lot beyond textbooks such as patience, tolerance and manners.

Many people have described my recovery as miraculous, and for this I would particularly like to thank the doctors and nurses at Swat Central Hospital, CMH Peshawar and AFIC Rawalpindi, especially my heroes Colonel Junaid and Dr Mumtaz, who carried out the right operation at the right time or I would have died. Thanks also to Brigadier Aslam, who saved my major organs from failure after surgery.

I am extremely grateful to General Kayani, who took a keen interest in my treatment, and to President Zardari and his family, whose love and care kept me strong. Thanks to the UAE government and Crown Prince Mohammad bin Zayed for the use of their plane.

Dr Javid Kayani made me laugh in my gloomy days and was like a father to me. He was the man behind my treatment in the UK and first-class rehabilitation. Dr Fiona Reynolds was a great source of comfort to my parents in Pakistan and to me in the UK, and I thank her too for daring to tell me the truth about my tragedy.

The staff at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham have been amazing. Julie and her team of nurses were so kind to me, and Beth and Kate were not only nurses but like loving sisters. I’d particularly like to thank Yma Choudhury, who took great care of me and made sure I had everything I needed, even going on daily KFC runs.

Richard Irving deserves a particular mention for his surgery to restore my smile, as does Mrs Anwen White who restored my skull.

Fiona Alexander not only managed the media superbly but went far beyond, even helping to arrange schooling for me and my brothers, always with a smile.

Rehanna Sadiq has been a wonderful comfort with her spiritual therapy.

Thanks to Shiza Shahid and her family for all their incredible kindness and for helping set up the Malala Fund, and to her company McKinsey for supporting her in doing this. Thank you to all the wonderful people and partner organisations who have helped set up the Fund especially Megan Smith, UN Foundation, Vital Voices and BeeSpace. I am also thankful to Samar Minallah for her great support of our cause and the Malala Fund.

Great thanks to everyone at Edelman, especially Jamie Lundie and his colleague Laura Crooks. My father would have gone mad without you!

Thanks as well to Gordon Brown, who has built on what happened to me to create a worldwide movement for education, and the wonderful staff in his office. And to Ban Ki-moon for being so supportive since the beginning.

Thanks to Pakistan’s former High Commissioner in London, Wajid Shamsul Hasan, and especially to Aftab Hasan Khan, the Head of Chancery, and his wife Erum Gilani, who were a great support. We were strangers and they helped us adjust to this land and find a place to live. Also thanks to driver Shahid Hussein.

On the book, our special thanks to Christina, who turned into reality what was just a dream. We never imagined how a lady not from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa or Pakistan could show such remarkable love and understanding of our country.