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Subscribe to RSSThree months after being shot in the head by the Taliban, Pakistani teenager Malala Yousafzai is still on the road to recovery and as committed as ever to education advocacy. NBC's Keir Simmons reports.
LONDON — Malala Yousufzai, the Pakistani girl shot in the head by the Taliban for advocating girls' education, has been discharged from a hospital in the U.K. after doctors said she was well enough to spend some time recovering with her family.
The 15-year-old was shot at point-blank range in October after becoming a symbol of resistance to the insurgents' efforts to deny women education and other rights. The attack on Malala, which also wounded two of her classmates, prompted revulsion and condemnation, and helped galvanize supporters of women's education worldwide.
In a statement, the hospital treating her said she had been discharged on Thursday because she was healthy enough to be treated as an outpatient.
'Malala Day' marked in Pakistan, amid security fears
"Malala is a strong young woman and has worked hard with the people caring for her to make excellent progress in her recovery," Dave Rosser, medical director of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham where Malala was treated, said in a statement. "Following discussions with Malala and her medical team, we decided that she would benefit from being at home with her parents and two brothers."
U.K. National Health Service
Malala Yousufzai was discharged from the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, England, on Thursday.
Malala will be readmitted in late January or early February to undergo cranial reconstructive surgery as part of her long-term recovery, the hospital said. In the meantime, she will visit the hospital regularly to attend clinical appointments, the statement added.
More on this story from NBC's UK partner ITV News
Doctors said that although the bullet hit her left brow, it did not penetrate her skull but instead traveled underneath the skin along the side of her head and into her neck. The decision to send Malala to Britain was taken in consultation with her family; Pakistan is paying for her treatment.
Citing patient confidentiality, hospital authorities declined to say what her plans were to continue her education, though they acknowledge she is able to read in both English and Urdu.
The Pakistani teenager shot in the head by the Taliban for promoting girls' education has been released from hospital. Yousufzai will be treated as an outpatient at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham. ITN's Rupert Evelyn reports.
Malala was flown to the U.K. on Oct. 15, six days after the school bus shooting. She was treated by doctors specializing in neurosurgery, trauma and other disciplines in a department of the hospital which has treated hundreds of soldiers wounded in conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq.
'Spy of the West': Al-Qaida, Taliban struggle to justify attack on Pakistani teen
The wave of condemnation that followed the attack prompted the Taliban to release statements justifying their action. Malala quickly became an international cause celebre and became a contender to become Time's Person of the Year 2012.
More than 250,000 people have also signed online petitions calling for her to be nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for her activism.
Yousufzai's father said in October he was sure she would "rise again" to pursue her dreams after medical treatment.
This month Pakistan appointed Malala's father, Ziauddin, as its education attache in Birmingham. The position, with an initial three-year commitment, virtually guarantees that Malala will remain in Britain for now.
In Paris, the courageous Pakistani ten Malala Yousafzai was honored at an event marking the U.N.'s Human Rights Day. NBC's Amna Nawaz reports.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
More world stories from NBC News:
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- Commemoration or deification? Pakistan embraces 'political goddess' Bhutto
- Drug-resistant malaria threatens deadly global 'nightmare'
- From alcohol to kites: An A to Z guide to the Islamic Republic of 'Banistan'
- UK police: Attackers dressed as Oompa Loompas beat man
- Vatican launches swipe-card security system
- US sailors sue Japan's TEPCO for post-quake radiation exposure
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This girl shot because she supported education for girls in Pakistan, and by extension other Muslim countries. A common practice in Muslim countries of throwing acid in the face of women who reject a particular man. US Army manual directs soldiers not to speak against abuse of women or against pedophilia in Muslim countries. Put it all together we can assume their are many misogynist homosexuals among Jihadist groups whom our govt doesn't want to offend.Why does the truth have to be covered up?
Meanwhile, in Pakistan, authorities decline to prosecute Muslims who beat a pregnant Christian woman, causing her to miscarry twins and also they raped her 13 yr old niece.
http://www.worldwatchmonitor.org/english/country/pakistan/article_1599572.html
Only a coward uses their religion as justification to murder children.
50+ million adult male Muslims in Pakistan.
Only one man, a doctor, had the guts to help us find Bin Laden and he sentenced to 33 years of torture and prison.
Little girls like Malala show more courage every day than the other 50+ million cowardice adult male Muslims can muster in their entire lives.
And the Obama administration lets the doctor Afridi rot in prison and be tortured. They further insult this little girl by sending then 18 billion dollars in aid over the past 10 years. And Obama has requested another 3 billion in aid.
Obama doesn't like those who turn on his fellow Muslims.
If the Taliban is smart, they will leave her alone - lest the whole world rise up and slaughter them mercilessly.
No one ever rises up and slaughters Muslim men mercilessly. It's not PC.
yes because killing 3k americans on american soil wasnt reason enough to wipe out these bearded scroats. wtf man its one girl these savages kill hundreds of people a week for no other reason than their pig god commands it.
100% war propaganda designed to keep support for the war. In reality the US does far more killing of men, women, and children in Afghanistan than the Taliban. Our invasion and occupation of their country IS the reason for the killing, all of it.
personally Tom
I never felt we owed anything to the countries who attacked us on 9/11
did they help rebuild the World Trade Center or anything else they have destroyed throughout the world?
Burn it and leave I say
Victor, no "country" attacked us on 9/11. It was a terrorist group. I know that is confusing since Bush made it seem like Iraq did it but Al-qaida is in allot of countries, even America, but that does not mean those countries support Al-qaida. The Taliban is a terrorist group, not a country.
andrew incorrect
the Taliban (the Afghan GOVERNMENT) supported Al-Qaeda and allowed their training camps and supported themselves with funding from Al-Qaeda during the 9/11 attack.
The war in Iraq was a mistake in fact if I had been running the show I would have armed the secular Saddam Hussein to the teeth and let him and Israel clean the region up!
When someone says they want and are going to kill you MAYBE you should listen to them Andrew.
It is Unbelievable how progressives ALWAYS defend these barbaric actions by deflecting to the errors committed by the West.
Hopefully the day will never come Andrew when you find out how tolerant Muslims truly are!
For further education perhaps you should google the appeasement policy of Neville Chamberlain
I know Muslims and while I don't live the same way they do, they are not terrorists. To say all Muslims are is like saying all Christan's are KKK as the KKK is an extremist Christan group.
Andrew do you know Muslims who live with you under Sharia law?
Victor, so you do know their is a difference between Muslims and Muslim extremists. Good for you because some of your statements seemed a little ignorant to that fact.
andrew
please continue to stick your head in the sand
the day the Muslims YOU know are the majority is the day YOUR ability to speak out is over
that is historic fact
understanding other religions and cultures does not mean seeing them through rose colored PC glasses
it means understanding that fire bombing Nazi Germany was just AND a matter of survival
I agree in the separation of church and state. I wouldn't vote for any candidate that was planing on governing from anything other then the Constitution. That is why I voted for Obama, he has a PHD in Constitutional law.
lmao
really Obama WOW the US President who has signed more executive orders thus bi-passing the US Constitution in four years than the past 5 presidents combined.
That Obama
and for your further education the idea of the Separation of church and state was one begun by a anti-Catholic Governor in the south. He did not want the public school buses picking up Catholic school Students thus he sued the school system for that "separation"
we have come full circle
I think you are like most who hate Obama. You don't understand the Constitution as well as him and every time he does something you don't like he is the one abusing the Constitution. When you get your PHD in Constitutional law then maybe I will listen to your opinion of how Obama goes against the Constitution. The phrase separation of church and state pre existed your assertion that it was meant to keep Catholics off of a BUS as it was used by Thomas Jefferson who does in fact pre date buses.
andrew
Jefferson never said such a thing
and yes Obama is equal to or worse than Bush
I do not need to attend Harvard to see that I voted for the great impostor in 2008
he made me believe that he was going to be different
then he signed Wall Street Bailout part2 and even had the audacity to threaten marshal law when democrats AND republicans spoke out against it
good luck and for ALL of us I hope you are right BUT YOU ARE NOT
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution provides that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof ...." and Article VI specifies that "no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States." The modern concept of a wholly secular government is sometimes credited to the writings of English philosopher John Locke, but the phrase "separation of church and state" in this context is generally traced to a January 1, 1802 letter by Thomas Jefferson, addressed to the Danbury Baptist Association in Connecticut, and published in a Massachusetts newspaper. Echoing the language of the founder of the first Baptist church in America, Roger Williams—who had written in 1644 of "[A] hedge or wall of separation between the garden of the church and the wilderness of the world"— Jefferson wrote, "I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should 'make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,' thus building a wall of separation between Church & State."[
andy more from wikapedia?
Yes, it is from Wikapedia and I also cross referenced it from multiple sources and remember it from school, not as detailed a memory of course. Is it incorrect?
The domestic dog (Canis lupus familiaris),[2][3] is a subspecies of the gray wolf (Canis lupus), a member of the Canidae family of the mammalian order Carnivora. The term "domestic dog" is generally used for both domesticated and feral varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and pet animal in human history. The word "dog" may also mean the male of a canine species,[4] as opposed to the word "bitch" for the female of the species.
This is from Wikapidia also.
The domestic cat[1][2] (Felis catus[2] or Felis silvestris catus[4]) is a small, usually furry, domesticated, carnivorous mammal. It is often called the housecat when kept as an indoor pet,[6] or simply the cat when there is no need to distinguish it from other felids and felines. Cats are valued by humans for companionship and their ability to hunt vermin and household pests.
This as well.
andrew
check out the president equal to or worse than bush
http://seattletimes.com/html/politics/2020052400_apusfiscalclifftaxbreaks.html
I read the article. Was Obama pushing for these or Congress? Do you know? I know Obama pushed for raising taxes on the top 2% but Congress moved the number from $250.000.00 to $450,000.00. Sounds like CONGRESS added these to me. You do realise Obama can't just pass bills by himself or the $250,000.00 number would have stuck right? Sounds like Obama followed the CONSTITUTION by compromising a deal and not dictating one.
Andrew has been chased from birth by one "boogie man" or another. "Someone to Love", or "Someone to Hate". There is always a choice. So many of us choose the latter.
Hey President Obama
See what happens to a female when she tries to learn to read in one of the countries you support?
The true "war on women" is happening every minute of every day throughout the Muslim world, INCLUDING here in the US and throughout Europe.
Google Honor Killings in America
Islamo-Fascism the greatest threat to freedom and equality EVER
Victor, saying Pakistan is the Taliban is like saying America is the KKK because they exist in the country. Pakistan, the country is paying for this girls hospital bills and she is Pakistani.
The Taliban WAS the government of Afghanistan
they continue to attempt to regain power in "their" country.
as for your KKK reference I would expect nothing less then for you to deflect to radicals withing our own nation.
to put it plainly let me ask "Has the KKK ever governed the United States?"
They weren't prosacuted in the south for hanging black men and women and yes some of the States Legislators where members of the KKK. Governor's, Pastors, Senators, Congressman, judges, but that doesn't make America, the country, the KKK.
Again answer has the KKK ever governed any nation, state, county, city, township, commonwealth, etc etc openly?
but Andrew these are the most important questions
do you support slavery
do you support the idea that gays and lesbians MUST be executed
do you support the belief that women are less then men
ALL of those tenets are parts of Sharia Law
NOT all cultures are good or have good aspects
no matter how much you deflect to atrocities committed within Western Culture it does not change the fact that ISLAMO-FASCISTS want to kill US
Yes, the KKK members have governed Stat, County, City, Townships, and Commonwealths openly.
Again, you take extremists and place them in the same boat as Muslims. If you know the difference you should use terms like Muslim Extremists so those less informed then you don't get the idea that all Muslims are bad.
List of KKK members who served openly. Harry Truman, Robert Byrd, Edward Douglas White, Hugo Black, Theodor G. Bilbo, James Eli Watson, Rice W. Means, Bibb Graves, Edward L. Jackson, Clerance Morley, Clifford Walker, George Gordon, and the list goes on.
Andrew where did the KKK govern openly?
Please where is there one single instance of a KKK member being sworn in to office in his Grand Dragon Garb?
That is the difference THAT YOU do not understand
"over there" they govern openly
The New Egyptian Constitution includes the right to own slaves and holds NO protections for religious, sexual or gender freedoms.
and our government supports this regime
Harry Truman the President who desegregated the US Armed Forces was a KKK member?
The same Harry Truman who was vice president under FDR
the FDR of the new deal?
wow you have been misled and indoctrinated
good day sir
Harry paid the membership fee but never practiced to garner support. He was in fact a "member" but never a believer. Google KKK members in United States Politics, he's at the top of the list in Wikipedia.
andrew really
you are reaching
wikipedia what does wikipedia say
this info is can not be guaranteed for accuracy
I can go right now and ADD your name to that list
OK, Victor, do that and we will see how long it is there before some one corrects it. There are multiple sources and as I have said he never practiced. It isn't a question as it is substantiated from many independent sources.
andrew
please part ways with party and ideological dogma
question all authority
and begin to understand what is the government media complex
What ideological dogma do you speak of? Have I given you the impresion that I do not research the topics I discuss or am entirely devoted to any idea belonging to one party? These topics predate political affiliation.
Victor: That's your head being handed to you.
Andrew: He has no idea what you're talking about. A "World View" is far too complex for many of us to grasp, let alone entertain. Hate is far easier, and doesn't require reason, empathy, or respect.
Beautiful young lady. May you have a brighter future than a past. Sadly, you come from a part of the world where men think more of their goats than their women. And have them walk in front of them to clear the way of any mines. What stand up guys they be. Third world countries destined to remain so. A way of life not many want.
Malala, may God continue to bless you, and continue to inspire others. You indeed have the soul and heart of a Lion! You will forever be remembered.
Just think about the kind of coward that would shoot an unarmed young girl in the head. Further, think about the malevolent cowards that sent the shooter.
These people do this in the name of their God?
They deserve to be hunted down and shot mercilessly for the disease they are.
They will answer to the real God for perverting his word and turning it evil. Oh hell is the penalty for that.
Wishing you well and a speedy recovery. You are a strong and intelligent young woman that we all should be proud of. If I ever have a daughter I would hope that she had your strength to follow her dreams and the courage to stand up to anyone that tried to suppress that.
Hey Taliban and all radical Islam. This girl just a message to all of you. Kiss my azz. You incompetent idiots coulndt even kill a little girl. I hope this girl becomes a symbol of change because you need it
What a hero this young woman is! I don't think I could have done what she's done under the conditions she lived in.
What fearful cowards the shooters are. I can only hope that they suffer some remorse and that their neighbors are rightfully disgusted by their actions.
I love it. This is a big f-you to those idiots.
Tragic circumstances that this young woman found herself in simply for her desire of an education. Nobel Prize for Peace? No, not at this time. There are far more deserving individuals who have been fighting for human rights and peace for longer than this child. We should not confer an award on her because she was injured in her fight at such a tender young age. Let's see what she does in the future once she has fully recovered and received more education and takes her fight to the next level. Chances are that she will warrant recognition in the future for her efforts, but not at the present time.
What a beautiful and strong soul... wise beyond her years. I'm sure this stems from parents who, despite living where they did, encouraged her to dream and to look for what is right in the world rather than bowing to fear. I'm inspired by her and I'm grateful for her family being a light in a dark world.
The Taliban should hang their heads... a child. Power is much more effective and lasting when gained through peace rather than fear. If you cannot spread your beliefs without force, you should probably be looking at exactly what you believe in. Is it really true belief if you are following out of fear rather than a sincere yearning for knowledge and what is right? I spent many nights crying myself to sleep as a child, wondering if I was saved or not. What if that lie I'd told meant I was going to hell. I think my fear stemmed from whether or not I really believed, or if I was just praying the prayer because I was scared of burning when I died. Does God want people to believe because they are scared, or is a relationship based on faith, hope, and love the goal?
I'm not claiming to know everything... I'm not an expert (who is) and I question my faith and belief system more often than not, but I refuse to try and scare my son into heaven with the same methods my parents used. I hope that he will have a much more positive view of his spirituality than I did... and once again, I've gone completely off topic:)
Congrats!!!!! You are the very definition of "a strong woman". I hope the men of your country, who do the oppressing of everyone, take a look at you and change their ways. I try to live my life so that when my feet hit the floor, out of the bed, the Devil look's up scared and say's " Look out she's awake!!". I hope the men who shot you, and their friend's, feel like that everyday and I pray they change their way's. As the old song says' " I AM WOMAN HEAR ME ROAR IN NUMBER'S TO BIG TO IGNORE!!!!" Men who abuse women diminish us ALL as human's. Remeber EVERY woman is somebody's little girl.
whynot--unfortunately, you might be right about that. But one can always hope......
I have an idea, let's honor this woman by giving the moo-slums a cable tv station so they can pump their hate directly to the minds of the millions of moo-slum idiots living in this country- Oh yeah we just did that, thanks AL!
You know she's a Muslim as well, right?
Who "gave" anyone a cable tv station? Didn't they buy it?
Beauty both inside and out; topped off with strength and courage. This world is blessed to have such an amazing person in it. Best of luck Malala!!!!
Malala is the poster child for exactly what's wrong with the Taliban. To maliciously shoot a young child including injuring some of her classmates, is unforgivable and yet the Taliban tries to justify their heinous act. Demented minds to say the least. Happy to hear she will be safe in the UK at least for the time being.
Malala is a brave hero. The Taliban are pathetic cowards...
History has often shown, it is from the most unexpected sources, that the brightest sparks begin that lead to desperately needed changes.Like a young Joan of Ark did for France so long ago.And a modern Rosa Parks. Often taking great personal risks for what they know to be the right course.That the world should be given these beautiful souls who stand up against the evils of their times, is more, it seems then it deserves.
Yet, they also remind us what is so often overlooked and forgotten in the blood shed, fighting, chaos and hopelessness that seems to flood the news every day. That there's much good in the world, which is worth fighting for. If those who believe in it will just work together.Now if one young girl can inspire her nation to win a war centuries ago, if an tired woman can help change America by refusing to give her seat up, and a ten year old girl take on terrorists, even after being shot five years later, then why can't the rest of us also come together and not give up, washing our hands of what is happening?
There is a saying, we don't have to constantly be terribly brave in life. Just every now and then. Private victories precede public victories, just as private defeats precede public ones. Obviously this incredible child has fought a lot of private battles and won. Which is why she is able to win so many public. May we all learn such lessons from children.We don't have to hate our enemies, to overcome them.
Because hatred is hatred, pure and simple. It ruins the vessel it is carried in. However, proving we will persevere, no matter how many enemy kill themselves trying to get to us, is a far more powerful message to send, then we hate them likewise, so kill them. Especially to those who plan on dying anyway.For both sides seeing the other hating, feel justified even more, while those who look, may not see much difference either.
May this remarkable heroine be watched over, protected, as she continues to be a leader, to be a role model, to inspire so many others in her country, anywhere females are oppressed or afraid to stand up for equality.I pray she will be surrounded with the protections needed, so no harm will befall her. The leaders in her country must finally take the initiatives to allow women to receive education opportunities and freedoms only men have right now.It is truly a miracle, the world still has this precious girl, and she has a greater work still to do.
It should not have to take a child getting shot before leaders realize the true value of women, but even worse, it should never be left ignored, the untold number of deaths of women, before a country realizes its responsibility to protect all citizens equally in today's modern world.
I truly pray to whatever deity is appropriate or not that they do not send her back to Pakistan. The a__holes that shot her the first time will want to finish the job now. They have no fear of International opinion. They will do it just to save face and for the love of Allah!
If anyone thinks her own government can protect her, I have the proverbial bridge for sale!!!!!!
So much for the Taliban. They tried and once again they failed. Go back to your caves, Taliban.
Her mouth is twisted to one side. I don't care what these lying doctors say, she suffered a brain injury.
This can be the result of nerve damage caused by the path of the bullet. It does not have to have entered her brain to do this.