Reading from her hospital bedside
Taliban-shooting victim Malala defies the extremists who oppose female education
Sitting by her hospital bed and reading books and cards from well-wishers, Malala Yousafzai is a symbol of courage.
The 15-year-old girl was shot in the head by a Taliban gunman in Pakistan, after she defied them by writing about the importance of education for females.
Flown to Britain for surgery after the bullets grazed her brain, the inspiring teenager is now starting to recover - and began by thanking her supporters around the world for their 'inspiring' wellwishes.
Her message came as thousands of people have called for her to be awarded a Nobel Peace Prize for her demand for women's education in Pakistan, a right that the Taliban opposes.
Speaking on behalf of Malala exactly a month after she was targeted on a school bus, her father Ziauddin Yousafzai said she wanted to thank well-wishers for helping her to 'survive and stay strong'.
Malala was flown to Britain for specialist treatment at Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital after escaping death by inches when a bullet 'grazed' her brain on October 9.
She was in her school van on the outskirts of the city of Mingora in the Taliban-held Swat Valley when men with guns stopped the vehicle.
They demanded that other girls identify Malala who, in early 2009, had written an anonymous blog about life under the Taliban, who had banned all girls in her area from attending school.
The gun-weilding terrorists shot two girls, who suffered non-lifethreatening injuries, and fired at Malala, striking her in the head and neck, according to officials.
The shooting sparked international outrage and the Taliban issued a statement online saying that, if Malala were to survive, they would attack her again.
Mr Yousafzai, his wife and their two sons flew to the UK last month to be with Malala, who was travel- ling home from school with two classmates when she was shot at point-blank range by extremists.
In a statement issued by the University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, Mr Yousafzai said: 'She wants me to tell everyone how grateful she is and is amazed that men, women and children from across the world are interested in her well-being.
'We deeply feel the heart-touching good wishes of the people across the world of all caste, colour and creed.'
Malala, who has been praised for her courage in campaigning for the rights of women and girls in Pakistan, has received thousands of gifts, cards and messages of support since arriving in Birmingham on October 15.
Among the gifts are pocket money ' for sweets', the teenager's favourite CDs, school books, clothing, toys and jewellery, while whole classes of pupils have written letters and messages supporting Malala's campaign for girls' education.