Girl shot by Taliban is discharged from hospital in Britain

LONDON -- Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani teenager shot by the Taliban in October for defying the group’s ban on girls’ education, was discharged from Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham on Friday after cranial reconstruction and a cochlear implant to restore hearing in her left ear.

Malala was discharged “after making a good recovery from her surgery last weekend,” a hospital statement said.

Malala had undergone other treatment at the hospital before being temporarily discharged in early January. She returned recently for the additional procedures.

“She will continue her rehabilitation at her family’s temporary home in Birmingham and will visit the hospital for outpatient appointments,” the hospital statement said.

The statement included a plea to the media from her family to “respect their privacy and dignity at this time.”

The 15-year-old became known writing a blog relayed to the world through the BBC Urdu service chronicling life under the rigid rule of the Taliban in the Swat region of Pakistan, where girls are forbidden education beyond primary school level.

Gunmen boarded her school bus near her hometown of Mingora on Oct. 9, looking for Malala, and shot her repeatedly in the head. After emergency treatment in Pakistan she was airlifted to Queen Elizabeth Hospital, which specializes in military casualties. During her recovery, Malala has appeared in videos thanking the doctors and vowing to continue her campaign to fight for female education in Pakistan.

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