Three months after she was seriously injured in a murderous attack by a Taliban gunman, a smiling Malala Yousafzai on Friday left Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital as doctors said she had made a "remarkable" recovery and was fit to be discharged.
Describing the teenaged Pakistani schoolgirl as a "strong young woman", Dr. Dave Rosser, medical director of the health trust that runs the hospital, said: "Following discussions with Malala and her medical team, we decided that she would benefit from being at home with her parents and two brothers. She will return to the hospital as an outpatient and our therapies team will continue to work with her at home to supervise her care."
The discharge came a day after she was chosen for Ireland’s prestigious Tipperary International Peace Prize for 2012 for her courage and determination to speak out in support of equal access to education for every child.
Malala’s father, Ziauddin Yousafzai, has been given a job at Pakistani consulate in Birmingham so that she can continue to stay on in Britain after her medical treatment.
Malala (15), who suffered serious skull injuries after being shot by a militant, is to undergo cranial reconstruction surgery later this month or in February.
Her father said the family was moved by "the heart-touching good wishes of the people across the world of all castes, colour and creed".
The attack on her as she was returning home from her school in Pakistan’s Swat district on October 9 caused international outrage. Thousands of people signed a petition nominating her for the Nobel Peace Prize.
