Malala Yousafzai profile

After Malala Yousafzai was shot by members of the Taliban in October 2012 she underwent a life-saving operation in Pakistan before being
transferred, in an air ambulance provided by the United Arab Emirates, to the UK.

At the Queen Elizabeth hospital in Birmingham, she was treated by staff who specialise in treating wounded members of the armed forces.

Pakistan's president Asif Ali Zardari visited Malala in December last year, describing her as a "remarkable girl and a credit to Pakistan". The Pakistani government has been paying for her medical treatment and financially supporting her family.

In January, the hospital said she was well enough to be treated as an outpatient and discharged her to the family’s temporary home in the UK’s west midlands.

Her father Ziauddin has been appointed education attache at the Pakistani consulate in Birmingham, so Malala will be able to stay in the country for up to five years, along with her mother, Toorpekai, and younger brothers, Khushal and Atul.

Since the shooting, the Taliban have threatened the lives of both Malala and her father.

Last month, on her 16th birthday, more than 500 delegates welcomed her with a standing ovation at the United Nation’s headquarters in New York.

Although it was declared Malala Day, she said it was really “the day of every woman, every boy and every girl who have raised their voice for their rights”.

Following the address, a prominent Pakistani Taliban commander wrote to Malala expressing regret for not warning her before the assassination attempt.

Adnan Rasheed did not apologise for the attack but said he found the shooting “shocking”, wished it had not happened and would let God decide whether she should have been targeted.

“You have said in your speech yesterday [at the UN] that the pen is mightier than sword,” he wrote.

“So they attacked you for your sword not for your books or school.”