Global Malala Day to call for girls' education

Malala was shot as she was returning home from school in Pakistan's Swat valley

A global day calling for the education of all females is to be held in honour of a schoolgirl shot by the Taliban.

Malala Yousafzai, 15, was treated in Birmingham after being shot in the head in October for campaigning for girls' rights to education in Pakistan.

Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, now a United Nations envoy for education, said the event would take place on Malala's 16th birthday on 12 July.

He has appointed Malala's father Ziauddin as a special advisor.

Malala is expected to secure permanent residence in the UK and Mr Yousafzai has been employed by the Pakistani consulate in Birmingham for the next three years.

'Liberation movement'

The plans for Malala Day were announced on International Women's Day at the Women of the World Festival at London's Southbank Centre.

Mr Brown said the issue of universal education for girls was in desperate need of a "liberation movement and a freedom fight for change".

It is hoped young people from around the world will mark the day, aimed at providing education for the estimated 32 million girls who do not currently have access to it.

Surgeons in Pakistan removed a bullet from Malala's head after she was attacked in the Swat valley.

She was flown to Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital for further treatment.

The teenager was discharged from the hospital last month to continue her rehabilitation, after having a titanium plate and cochlear implant fitted.

Malala has received support from around the world, with tens of thousands of people signing an online petition calling for her to be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.