Malala leaves Queen Elizabeth Hospital

The Pakistani schoolgirl activist shot in the head by the Taliban has been discharged from a Birmingham hospital as an inpatient.

Malala Yousafzai, 15, was being treated at Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEHB) after being transferred following the attack in October, 2012.

She will continue rehabilitation at her family's temporary West Midlands home.

The Taliban said it shot Malala, a campaigner for girls' education, for "promoting secularism".

The shooting, in a school bus, sparked domestic and international outrage.

'Strong young woman'

Malala was returning home from school in the north-western Swat district on 9 October when gunmen stopped her vehicle and shot her in the head and the chest.

She received immediate treatment in Pakistan where surgeons removed a bullet which entered just above her left eye and ran along her jaw, grazing her brain.

The teenager was then flown to the UK and was admitted to the QEHB on 15 October to receive specialist treatment.

Over the past few weeks, Malala has been leaving the hospital on home visits to spend time with her father Ziauddin, mother Toorpekai and younger brothers, Khushal and Atul.

The University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust said doctors believe she will continue to make good progress outside the hospital.

The schoolgirl is due to undergo cranial reconstruction surgery in late January or early February.

Dr Dave Rosser, the trust's medical director, said: "Malala is a strong young woman and has worked hard with the people caring for her to make excellent progress in her recovery.

"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."

Peace award

Since the shooting, Malala and her father have had threats made against their lives by the Taliban.

Malala came to prominence when, as an 11-year-old, she wrote a diary for BBC Urdu, giving an account of how her school in Mingora town dealt with the Taliban's 2009 edict to close girls' schools.

Her love for education, and her courage in standing up to the Taliban made her an icon of bravery and earned her a national peace award in 2011.

The president of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari, visited Malala at the hospital on 8 December and assured the family his government would meet the expenses of the treatment.