Who is Malala?? But even before ?the bravest girl in the world? could answer the question and explain why the Taliban should let girls?their own sisters and daughters?go to school, her world changed forever.

One of the two men?who had suddenly stepped onto the road and halted the van she was travelling in from school to her home?fired three shots at her, one narrowly missing her brain. The Taliban said they had targeted her for ?spreading secularism?.

By now, we all know who Malala is, the tireless little campaigner of education for girls in Pakistan?s Swat valley, with its high snow-capped mountains, green fields and blue rivers. Named after Malalai of Mariwand, the greatest heroine of Afghanistan who led a group of Pashtun women and fought against the British, Malala was 10 years old when the Taliban took control of the Swat Valley. Living up to her name, she refused to give up school.

Her father, who set up schools for both boys and girls in the valley, was already a fierce campaigner for education and she was his ?comrade-in-arms?, not a mean achievement in a land ?where rifles are fired in celebration of a son, while daughters are hidden away behind a curtain, their role in life simply to prepare food and give birth to children?.

As threats from the Taliban kept coming, her father Ziauddin refused armed guards, as that would attract more attention. Then on October 9, 2012, in the middle of her exams and as her mother took her first lessons in school, the Taliban came for her. She was unconscious when she was flown out to England for treatment, and is unlikely to go back home anytime soon. Now 16, she has become the global mascot of protest, speaking at the United Nations, and was the youngest ever nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize. But she is far away from home and this bitter-sweet memoir doesn?t let you ever forget that.

She recalls that she and her best friend Moniba used to read the Twilight books and longed to be vampires?and, to them, it seemed that the Taliban arrived in the night just like vampires, armed with knives and Kalashnikovs, all this happening in the aftermath of 9/11 and the American invasion of Afghanistan.

It was school that kept her going in the dark days, and her account of life under the Taliban is a chilling reminder to every human being on this planet that we shouldn?t take anything for granted, especially education, human rights and freedom of speech. Within months of Taliban?s entry into Swat?the Pashtun-dominated area, which falls between Pakistan and Afghanistan?people had to get rid of their TVs, DVDs and CDs.

As Malala writes, ?First, the Taliban took our music, then our Buddhas, then our history.? Soon, the girls could no longer go on school picnics or visits to waterfalls, lakes, ski resorts, Buddha statues and the tomb of Akhund of Swat. Cable was switched off, which meant Malala and her friends could no longer watch Bollywood shows or MasterChef. Even the most popular board game of the valley, carrom, was banned.

Malala then began writing a diary for the BBC about life under the Taliban, under the pseudonym ?Gul Makai?, which means cornflower. The first entry appeared in January 3, 2009, under the heading I Am Afraid. Her mother wanted to change her name to Gul Makai because Malala also means grief-stricken.

Malala recalls reading Paulo Coelho?s The Alchemist and Stephen Hawking?s A Brief History of Time.

Her father plays a huge role in her life as a campaigner. In fact, this is as much Malala?s story as it is her father?s. Ziauddin?s father was an imam and he struggled against all odds to give himself an education, vowing to spread learning in Swat valley and set up schools. He would get teased by Malala for speaking up for girls? rights, but not helping her mother at home.

There is an inherent problem with ghost-written books. It?s difficult to differentiate the voices and, sometimes, it seems as if this is not a 16-year-old speaking. And yet, Malala is a very opinionated little girl, rallying against every ill of the world, from America?s drone attacks to Kashmiri people?s plight, the Pashtuns? biased laws against women, the Pakistani army, bureaucracy and, of course, the Taliban.

That the little girl needs all the help she can get is evident more than ever after the Taliban threatened bookshops stocking the Malala book in Pakistan. The war is far from over.

I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up For Education And Was Shot by the Taliban

Malala Yousafzai

with Christina Lamb

Hachette India

Rs 399

Pp 276

Sudipta Datta is a freelancer