Malala Yousafzai bound for UK hospital

The 14 year-old victim of a vicious Taliban attack is on her way to the UK for special treatment in a British hospital. Malala Yousafzai was shot in the head last week by Taliban assassins who targeted her because of her support for the education of girls and women in Pakistan.

LONDON, ENGLAND (Catholic Online) - Doctors say her condition is stable but remains critical and that it is unlikely she will make a full recovery with one anonymous insider saying she has "very limited chance of life left."
Malala rose to prominence three years ago, when at age 11 she began keeping a blog detailing her daily struggles, trying to earn an education against the backdrop of growing Taliban influence. 

She has been the subject of documentary films and has become a national symbol for the women's movement in Pakistan. This also made her a target for the Taliban, who ins a single act of brutality demonstrated that they would kill anyone, even a child, if they challenged their dominance. 

Meanwhile, the world has universally condemned the Taliban for its attack on Malala. Prime Minister raja Pervez Ashraf said on Friday, "It was not a crime against an individual but a crime against humanity and an attack on our national and social values."

Two other girls were wounded in the attack, both were predicted to make full recoveries within a couple weeks. 

After Malala was gunned down, her attackers fled on foot into a nearby slum. Police are still investigating, hoping to find the would-be assassins. At least four people have been arrested with connections to the shootings according to police. 

Across Pakistan, schools opened with prayers for Malala, and support has come in from around the world in various forms. Many see the attack not just as a personal attack, but as an attack on the values Malala promoted, especially education for girls. 

On Friday, more than 50 Islamic clerics also declared the attack against her as "un-Islamic" and issued a fatwa against the perpetrators. 

Although the Taliban would disagree, the clerics said that Malala was innocent of any crime therefore an attack against her represented an attack against all humanity. 

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