UNDATED (CBS) -- Doctors worked around the clock to save a Pakistani girl who the Taliban targeted because she was outspoken about getting an education. The assassination attempt has sparked outrage around the world.
Malala Yousufzai is lying in a hospital bed after standing up to the Taliban. Militants tried to kill the 14-year old girl on her way home from school Tuesday.
An insurgent boarded her school bus, asked for her by name then shot her in the head and neck. Two other girls near her were also wounded.
Doctors were able to remove one of the bullets and say she is out of danger but unconscious.
The young girl began speaking out against the Taliban at age 11 after militants took control of the Swat Valley where she lived and ordered all girls schools to close.
She blogged anonymously for the BBC and began showing her face once the Taliban was driven out.
The devout Muslim became an outspoken campaigner for the education of girls. She was the subject of documentaries for the New York Times.
Malala was nominated for the International Children's Peace Prize last year and she was awarded Pakistan's first National Youth Peace Prize.
She knew the danger of defying the Taliban; her diary revealed fears of being followed and threatened.
School children around the country prayed for the young activist. Women's rights activist Farzana Bari says, "There are people whose voices have been suppressed, are living in fear, but I feel there will be many Malalas in this country."
But many believe the Taliban's attempt to silence the teenager will probably backfire. Her story is now drawing sympathy from millions around the world.
The Taliban is showing no regret for the shooting. A spokesman called Malala "the symbol of infidels and obscenity."