Pakistani teen activist on way to Britain to recover from shooting

Malala Yousufzai, the Pakistani schoolgirl activist shot in the head by the Taliban, is on her way to Britain for treatment as she struggles to recover from her injuries, the Pakistani military said Monday.

The flight taking Malala, 14, from the military hospital in the town of Rawalpindi to an as yet undisclosed location in Britain is expected to take about eight hours, said military spokesman Maj. Gen. Asim Bajwa.

"The medical team is pleased with her present condition which has been described as optimal," the military said in a statement Monday. That provided the window of opportunity to transfer her to a facility in Britain specializing in care for children with severe injuries, it said.

Malala has gained renown in Pakistan and around the globe for her efforts defending the right of girls to go to school where she lives, the Taliban-heavy Swat Valley.

She was riding home in a school van Tuesday in the tense region, which sits along the Afghan border, when gunmen jumped into the vehicle and demanded to know which girl she was. Her horrified classmates pointed to her, and the men fired. Two other girls were wounded, but not seriously.

Malala was rushed to a hospital in the northwestern city of Peshawar where doctors worked to tackle the swelling of her brain and removed a bullet lodged in her neck. She was then moved to a military hospital in Rawalpindi, near Islamabad, which has a specialized pediatric intensive care unit.

The decision to send her to Britain was based on the expectation that she will need to have the damaged bones in her skull repaired or replaced, as well as intensive neurological rehabilitation, the military said Monday.

Malala's family was consulted on the matter "and their wishes were also taken into consideration," it said.

The young and unlikely activist rose to prominence for blogging about how girls should have rights in Pakistan, including the right to learn. She spoke out in a region of the country where support for Islamic fundamentalism runs high.

"I have the right of education," she said in a CNN interview last year. "I have the right to play. I have the right to sing. I have the right to talk. I have the right to go to market. I have the right to speak up."

Malala, whose writing earned her Pakistan's first National Peace Prize, also encouraged young people to take a stand against the Taliban -- and to not hide in their bedrooms.

Police have detained and questioned scores of people in efforts to find her attackers.

The Taliban, who say no girl should be educated, have claimed responsibility for the shooting. They have threatened to go after Malala again if she survives.

"We do not tolerate people like Malala speaking against us," Taliban spokesman Ihsanullah Ihsan said.

In the wake of the shooting, the teenage activist has come to symbolize a struggle in Pakistan between freedom and oppression, violence and peace.

On her blog, Malala often wrote about her life in Swat Valley, a hotbed of militant activity.

The valley near the Afghanistan border once attracted tourists to Pakistan's only ski resort, as well as visitors to the ancient Buddhist ruins in the area. But that was before militants -- their faces covered -- unleashed a wave of violence in 2003.

They demanded veils for women, beards for men and a ban on music and television. They allowed boys' schools to operate but closed those for girls.

But young Malala defied the Taliban edict, demanding an education.

For that, she got a bullet to the head -- and the attention of much of the world.