Malala's father: "She will rise again"

Last Updated 10:44 a.m. ET

BIRMINGHAM, England Malala Yousufzai, the Pakistani girl who was shot in the head for defying the Taliban, is recovering "with encouraging speed," according to her father.

Malala is recovering at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, where she was flown for treatment and protection from Taliban threats after she was shot on Oct. 9.

Her father, Ziauddin Yousufzai, flew to the U.K. to be by her side. He said Friday he had feared he would need to prepare for a funeral and called her recovery a "miracle."

"They wanted to kill her. But she fell temporarily. She will rise again. She will stand again. She can stand now," he said.

"I can say that she got the right treatment, at the right place, at the right time."He also expressed gratitude for prayers and well-wishes received from all over the world. "An attacker - who could be called the agent of Satan - he attacked, but after that I found angels at my side, everywhere all around me, until this time in this place," Ziauddin Yousufzai said.

"Everyone, everyone, across the world, they condemned the attack in strong words and they prayed for my daughter, who is not only my daughter, she is the daughter of everybody, the sister of everybody."

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• "Hero's reception" awaits Pakistani teen back home

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Video showed Malala in her hospital bed surrounded by her father, mother and two brothers.

"I love her and last night when we met her there were tears in our eyes out of happiness," Ziauddin Yousufzai said Friday. "We all cried a little bit."

The hospital has been publishing updates on Malala's condition. Staff say she has made what they call a dramatic recovery, considering what she has been through.

Dr. David Rosser, who is treating Malala, said Friday the girl is making very good progress. "All the signs of infection are now gone, we're pleased to say. Really we're very much in a phase of her care which is about recovery, both physical and psychological."

Rosser said the girl has been tired from hearing and vision tests. "That's just to make sure that we're not missing anything," he said. "Obviously with the bullet being close to both ear and eye we're keen to make sure there's no deficit we haven't noticed."

She was airlifted to a hospital in Britain on Oct. 15. The Taliban have vowed to kill her, raising questions about whether it would be safe for her to return but her father rejected reports the family might seek asylum abroad.

Since she was shot, Malala has become a hero both at home and internationally, although her work in speaking out against Taliban atrocities and advocating for girls' education has long been respected and known beyond her native Swat Valley.

[quincytodd]

How can we all be sure that this is not just another C.I.A. put up job? I, for one am not! After all, they don't call C.I.A. operatives Masters of Deceit for nothing! This is having the desired effect for the right-wing Washington politicians.

[cliffndort]

This young girl, soon to become a woman, is a beacon of light in a very dark world in Pakistan. If she and her family return, she will be killed and soon forgotten because her story will never be taught to the children of Pakistan.

Stay in the UK. Get an education there, a good one. Continue speaking out against the Taliban and the Pakistan government who cannot or will not empower the women of their country. Empower yourself from afar and continue your fight from afar. You already have world wide support in your quest for an education - that support will continue as will support in bringing down the Taliban. If you go home, you will die. If you stay where you are, you will live to continue that fight.

[OnTheRoad01]

OK, she survies! But will her father, brothers, uncles and the rest of her male relatives stand up and fight the people that did this to her, or will they just ask to stay in this country so they don't ever have to go back????

[AOCGUY]

When the Nobel committee meets they really should consider this young lady.

[ToolMangler1]

Any 'western styled family' will readily admit that in most cases "When Mama isn't happy, "Nobody is happy". That is why the Taliban and Islam are scared to let women have 'equality' with men..

[akibeel]

Hey her Dad looks like one of the guys in the cell phone commercials!

[knit-n-purl-girl]

Such a brave young woman! She is a beacon of light in a dark world. Any religious or political belief that could condone the shooting of children for pursuing and encouraging education is an abomination. May her attackers be swiftly brought to justice and may Malala achieve her every goal.

[knit-n-purl-girl]

Such a brave young woman! I wish her all the best in her recovery. She is a beacon of light in a dark world. May those who tried to kill her be brought to justice quickly. Any religious or political belief that could condone the killing of children just for their desire to pursue and encourage education is an abomination.

[pcfpgarty]

I can't truly say what the future for this little one is , except for certain , it is uncertain . It seems so strange to me and most in this country , that people of such strong convictions are so easily intimidated by a girl of less than ten years . Frightened people do frightening things. The people that would harm this young life are an example of what happens when a large social group dismisses conventional knowledge and is unable to function in the world that has developed since the birth of Christianity and Islam. Their self imposed social and ideological isolation will cause these people to be corralled like untamed creatures and barricaded from the developing world and allowed to suffer for the lack of any other kind of solution to their stunted social development .

[NB62]

If her family had any sense they would stay in the UK for good for that girl is a dead woman walking if she returns home.The Taliban have marked her for death and will not stop until they succeed in killing her