Malala recognizes in Part Five that in shooting her the Taliban made her story global. In what ways does their plan backfire?

Certainly the Taliban were exposed as cowards who pick on little girls. That type of global exposure was not good for them. The shooting of Malala backfired against the Taliban because it turned into a global condemnation of their cause. Their legitimacy in the eyes of the West and East further eroded. The injured Malala became more than a girl rather she became a symbol and idea of freedom: ideas are of course bulletproof. Since Malala's story the Taliban have largely been driven out of Swat. I think the political will to do this came from what Malala represents to the world. Malala's name now transcends simply the Taliban's injustices to a global movement for tolerance and girls’ rights to an education.