Malala recovering after surgery

UK: British doctors said Sunday that Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani schoolgirl shot in the head by the Taliban as punishment for campaigning for girls’ education, has had successful surgery on her skull.

The Queen Elizabeth Hospital in the central English city of Birmingham said the 15-year-old had undergone two operations on Saturday to insert a titanium plate into her skull and fit an electronic device in her ear.

Malala was shot by a Taliban gunman at point-blank range as her schoolbus travelled through Pakistan’s Swat Valley on October 9, in an attack that shocked the world.

She was flown to Britain days later for treatment at the specialist hospital, which also treats British soldiers wounded in Afghanistan.

Malala, who has become a global symbol of the campaign for girls’ right to an education, was nominated Friday for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize.

A hospital spokeswoman said the schoolgirl’s medical team were “very pleased” with her progress following five hours of surgery. “Both operations were a success and Malala is now recovering in hospital,” the spokeswoman said.

“Her condition is described as stable and her medical team are very pleased with the progress she has made so far. She is awake and talking to staff and members of her family.” At a press conference on Wednesday giving details of the surgery, Malala’s doctors said the custom-made titanium plate would protect her brain by covering the hole left in her head by the bullet.

AFP