Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai

Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai, who survived being shot in the head by the Taliban in October, has signed a book deal worth about $3m (£2m).

Malala, 15, who campaigns for girls' education, says the memoir is her own story and that of millions of others denied the chance to go to school.

She was shot by a Taliban gunman in her home region of Swat.

She and her family now live in the British city of Birmingham where she has been receiving treatment.

The book, titled 'I am Malala' *, is scheduled for publication in the autumn.

'Basic right'

"I hope the book will reach people around the world, so they realise how difficult it is for some children to get access to education," she said.

Malala has argued that every child has the right to an education

"I want to tell my story, but it will also be the story of 61 million children who can't get education.

"I want it to be part of the campaign to give every boy and girl the right to go to school. It is their basic right."

Publishers Weidenfeld and Nicolson say that her memoir will tell what happened on the day she was shot "and the inspiring story of her determination not be intimidated by extremists".

It will also be about the schoolgirl's family, who "gave her remarkable courage".

Malala writes in the memoir that Tuesday 9 October 2012 was "not the best of days as it was the middle of school exams - though as a bookish girl I don't mind them as much as my friends do".

At the time of the attack she was "squashed between friends and teachers on the benches of the open-back truck used as a school bus".

The gunman walked onto the vehicle and shot her in the face at point-blank range.

Since the shooting and her recovery after treatment in Pakistan and the UK, Malala has received numerous peace awards around the world.

Her father has been appointed a UN educational advisor, and 12 July has been designated by the United Nations as Malala Day.

The Malala Fund, set up on behalf of her and her family, is dedicated to the education and empowerment of girls in Pakistan and around the world.

(Full text of book 'I am Malala' can be read   HERE )

Her father, Ziauddin Yousafzai, took to Twitter to list Malala's grades which include A*s in GCSE and iGCSE maths.

"My wife Toor Pekai and I are proud of Malala getting 6A*s and 4As. #education for every child," wrote Mr Yousafzai.

Malala was shot by the Taliban after writing a diary about life under their rule in North-West Pakistan.

Last year, she became the youngest person ever to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

Top grades

The 18-year-old, who now attends Edgbaston High School in Birmingham, achieved particularly well in the sciences, with top A* grades in biology, chemistry and physics - as well as in religious studies.

She also scored As in history, geography, English language and English literature.

Malala first came to public attention through her anonymous diary, published on the BBC's Urdu website, which chronicled her desire to remain in education and for girls to have the chance of an education.

At the time, scores of girls' schools were being destroyed by militants in the Swat valley where she lived.

She survived being shot in the head by a Taliban gunman in October 2012 and was eventually flown to the UK for treatment and rehabilitation.

The extraordinary life of Malala Yousafzai

At the age of 18, Malala Yousafzai's life story has become a movie. See why her life to date is such an extraordinary one

The 21st century’s most famous schoolgirl, Malala Yousafzai, was shot in the head by the Taliban – and survived. Since then, she has opened a school for Syrian refugees, taken on the president of Nigeria, and become the youngest recipient of a Nobel Peace Prize.

At the age of 18, her life story has become a movie. None of this would be possible if it hadn’t been for a convergence of extraordinary events that began in a village where people traditionally expressed sorrow for the parents of any child who isn’t a boy.

Malala was born on 12 July 1997 in Mingora, Pakistan. Named after an Afghan poet and woman warrior, Malala’s lineage is Pashtun, a tribe of the Swat Valley.

In Mingora, she was raised by her parents Ziauddin and Toor Pekai along with Khushal and Atal, her two younger brothers, and, in the early years, two pet chickens.

Speaking Pashto, English, and Urdu, Malala was educated at her father’s private school, which became several schools collectively called the Khushal Public School. Although initially wanting to be a doctor, she was encouraged by her activist father to consider a career in politics.

Malala was treated differently from the average female child at birth: her father put her name on the family register, something traditionally reserved for males. She was also allowed to stay up late and debate politics when her brothers had been sent to bed.

Her gift for public speaking came to the fore when she was only 11. Her father, Ziauddin, took her to a local press club in Peshawar, where his daughter stood up and spoke out against the Taliban regime, which was then blowing up girls’ schools in Swat Valley.

Her talk, entitled “How dare the Taliban take away my basic right to education?”, inflamed passions on both sides but caught the attention of those covering the volatile region. Speaking out against the Taliban was tantamount to asking for a death sentence.

In 2009 Malala began secretly blogging for BBC Urdu under an assumed name. In December her identity was revealed and her fame was further fanned by a short film, Class Dismissed, made by the New York Times.

With a growing western platform, Malala continued to speak out for women’s right to education. Along with many other appearances, she was asked twice to participate on Pakistan’s oldest current affairs TV show Capital Talk, a show banned by General Musharraf in 2007.

The programme aims to show both sides of selected topics and was hosted by Hamid Mir, who was himself shot six times in 2014. In 2011, Archbishop Desmond Tutu put Malala forward for the International Children's Peace Prize.

In the same year, she won Pakistan’s National Youth Peace Prize. Accepting the award, she said that she did not belong to any particular political party but wanted to found her own national party to promote education.

A death threat was issued against her on the Taliban’s radio channel. On October 9, 2012, a masked gunman boarded Malala’s school bus and shouted, “Which one of you is Malala? Speak up, otherwise I will shoot you all” He then shot Malala three times.

One bullet hit the left side of Malala’s forehead, went through her face and lodged near her spine at the shoulder. Two of her friends were also shot. Following the attack, Malala was left in critical condition and comatose. She was later flown to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, which specialises in war injuries.

There, Malala received further surgery as well as intensive, specialised rehabilitation. Contrary to opinion, this was paid for by the Pakistan government.

With a plate in her skull and a cochlear implant for her damaged left ear, Malala continues to speak out on the importance of education. Nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in 2013, she was awarded the prize in 2014.

Shared with another children’s rights activist, the Indian child rights campaigner Kailash Satyarthi, 17-year-old Malala became the youngest winner of the prestigious award.

Her memoir was published in October 2013. Co-written with Christina Lamb OBE, it is called I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban.

As a passionate advocate for children’s and women’s education, Malala may not describe herself as a feminist, but she has become the face of an international movement for a better world future. This includes her own mother, Toor Pekai Yousafzai, who in 2014 learned to read and write.