Amal Unbound

About this book

Amal lives happily in a small Pakistani village with her parents and three younger sisters, where she attends the local school and dreams of one day becoming a teacher.

When her mother gives birth to a fifth daughter, Amal has to stay home to help. Feeling frustrated at missing so many lessons, she loses her temper on a trip to the market and refuses to defer to the cruel and influential landowner, Jawad Sahib, when he demands the pomegranate she has bought for her mother.

The repercussions of this small act of defiance are shocking, and as Amal’s family are unable to pay the debt Jawad Sahib says they owe, he takes Amal to work in his house as a servant.

Unsure when she will see her family again, Amal makes the best of her situation, learning the ropes and befriending the other servants. As she discovers more about Jawad Sahib’s methods of control, she desperately wishes she could stand up against the injustice and corruption she witnesses.

Inspired by Malala Yousafzai, who advocates for women’s rights in Pakistan, this is a compelling tale of one girl’s determination to make the world a fairer place.