Malala Yousafzai, schoolgirl shot by Taliban, now in UK

 Dr David Rosser: "We do have very extensive experience of this sort of traumatic, bullet-related injury"

Fourteen-year-old Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani girl shot in the head by Taliban gunmen in Swat, has arrived in the UK for medical treatment. A renowned campaigner for girls' education, she was attacked on her way home from school last Tuesday and a bullet was removed from her skull.

The Taliban said they targeted her for "promoting secularism".

She is in a serious condition and is being seen by doctors at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham. Malala was flown from Pakistan on board an air ambulance provided by the United Arab Emirates and accompanied by a full medical team. A bullet which hit Malala's skull was removed by surgeons in Peshawar in north-west Pakistan last week but she was later transferred to a military hospital for more specialist treatment.

Although Pakistan had initially insisted she could be treated in her home country, a military statement said that a panel of doctors had recommended she be "shifted abroad to a UK centre which has the capability to provide integrated care to children who have sustained severe injury".

On arrival at Birmingham Airport, she was taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital by ambulance, traveling at a slow speed because of the nature of her wounds. The hospital has a recently-opened major trauma centre specialising in both gunshot wounds and head injuries. Its specialist team has 10 years of experience of treating UK military casualties and Medical Director Dr. David Rosser said Malala Yousafzai "could be viewed as a battle casualty", which put doctors there "in a good position to treat her". Security, he added, was taken very seriously "at the best of times".

Education campaigner, Malala Yousafzai came to prominence in 2009 at the age of 11, when she started writing a diary for BBC Urdu about life under the Taliban.

 Under the pen-name Gul Makai, she described the problems caused by militants who had taken control of the Swat Valley where she lived in 2007 and ordered girls' schools to close.

Although the Taliban were ousted from Swat in 2009, her role as a young campaigner for girls' education meant that she received death threats. She was attacked last week as she returned home from school in the town of Mingora, in the Swat Valley. Two armed men stopped the van she was traveling in. One of them entered the vehicle, asked which of the girls inside was Malala, and fired three shots, hitting her in the head and wounding two others. The bullet that went into her skull had to be removed from close to her spinal cord.

"I felt hurt on opening my wardrobe and seeing my uniform, school bag and geometry box. Boys' schools are opening tomorrow, but the Taliban have banned girls' education”

Malala Yousafzai Diary entry, 8 February 2009 

After she was moved to a military hospital in Rawalpindi, a panel of doctors decided she needed "prolonged care to fully recover from the physical and psychological effects of trauma", the Pakistani military said.

The doctors had advised that if she were to be moved abroad, it should be "during this time window whilst her condition was optimal and before any unforeseen complications had set in," the statement added.

Once Malala recovers sufficiently, she is expected to need treatment to repair or replace damaged bones in her skull and to undergo neurological treatment. The Taliban have threatened to target her again. She was given tight security while she was being treated in

Pakistan and on board the air ambulance, which stopped in Abu Dhabi on its way to Birmingham. 'Example to us all' Dozens of people have been arrested in Swat in connection with the shooting, and most have since been released on bail.

UK Foreign Secretary William Hague: "It was a cowardly attack on her and her school friends." A rally in the Pakistani port city of Karachi on Sunday attracted thousands of demonstrators in support of the teenaged campaigner, by far the largest protest against the attack. The UK's Foreign Secretary William Hague said the shooting had "shocked Pakistan and the world" and her bravery was "an example to us all".

"The public revulsion and condemnation of this cowardly attack shows that the people of Pakistan will not be beaten by terrorists," he said. "The UK stands shoulder to shoulder with Pakistan in its fight against terrorism."

Former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown - now the UN's Special Envoy for Global Education - has announced the launch of a petition in Malala's name "in support of what Malala fought for."

"The petition calls on Pakistan to ensure that every girl like Malala has the chance to go to school," he said, while also calling on the international community to ensure all children have access to education by the end of 2015.

Mr Brown said he would hand the petition to Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari when he visited Islamabad next month.

Source: BBC News

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All I can say is that the day of The Woman is coming in the Middle-East and all those who oppose it had better pray for deliverance whether from Allah or God himself.

Body of newborn girl found in Jodhpur hospital dump

 Body of a newborn girl, surrounded by dogs who were trying to feast on it, was on Saturday found in a garbage dump behind the Umaid Hospital in Jodhpur. Police found the body inside the garbage pile after by-passers, who also claimed to have spotted two bodies of infants, informed them. Police have, however, denied the two infants theory and claimed that there was only one infant and that was a girl.

"We received information at about 9.30 am that there was a dead infant lying on a heap of garbage," said Investigating Officer (IO) Pabba Ram,

The body of the newborn girl was surrounded by dogs who were trying to feast on it in a garbage dump behind the Umaid Hospital.

"We rushed to the spot and found the people surrounding a dead infant girl behind the Umaid Hospital," said the officer.

According to the officer, the police have registered a case and handed over the body to Hindu Sewa Mandal for her cremation after postmortem.

"It is a matter of investigation whether the infant was born in the hospital or somebody else from outside dropped it there," the IO said.

"We will inquire from the hospital to find out if the infant was born there, if yes, the police will also check for the involvement of any staff of the hospital," Ram said.

But he has not ruled out the possibility of the infant being dropped there from some outsider.

"We also have to see if the infant was alive when dropped," the police officer said.

According to eye-witnesses, dogs had already devoured one of these infants whereas the other one was spotted before the canines could harm it, said one of the eye witness.

An eye witness said that they had seen the dogs running with an infant to elsewhere and when they rushed there, they found some blood scattered there.

"I was just passing by when I saw some dogs on the heap of garbage, when I got closer after shoeing away the dogs, I found a dead girl infant and immediately informed the police," he said.

Whatever be the case, but it is a major setback to the efforts of the government and various social organisations who have been invariably been emphasizing the acceptance of the girl child.

In 2009, a new-born child had died after being bitten by a rat in the natal ward of the same hospital. This led to the suspension of two doctors and a nurse.

Bollywood actor Aamir Khan had on May 9 met Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot over the issue of female foeticide. The issue was raised in the first episode of his television show 'Satyamev Jayate'.

 Source: India Times

Baby Afreen dies from cardiac arrest

Afreen's mother grieving at Vani Vilas Hospital in Bangalore on Wednesday. Photo: G.P. Sampath Kumar

Bangalore, April 11, 2012

Three-month-old Neha Afreen who had been battling for life since Friday after being allegedly battered by her father, died of cardiac arrest here on Wednesday.

Doctors at the Vani Vilas Hospital said that around 10.40 a.m. she suffered a cardiac arrest and died 30 minutes later.

Reshma Bano, the child's mother, vented her ire at Umar Farook, her husband, who is alleged to have assaulted the child.

“My baby was innocent, and he killed her. He's a devil and should get the strictest punishment.”

Ms. Reshma, her mother Maqbool Bi, father Abdul Karim Khan and their shocked family members were then taken to the mortuary at Victoria Hospital nearby where they struggled for privacy among the scores of TV cameras and journalists, as well as local political leaders who came to the hospital.

The child was targeted by Farook because he wanted a “boy and not a girl,” said Ms. Reshma.

When the child was admitted to the hospital, doctors said she had suffered haemorrhages in her brain and retina, and had multiple bite marks on her thighs and buttocks. Though already on ventilator support, Afreen went into a semi-comatose state on Tuesday.

R. Premalatha, Professor of Paediatrics, told The Hindu that the baby's condition deteriorated since Tuesday night after she suffered repeated convulsions, twice on Tuesday and once on Wednesday morning.

After the post-mortem the body was taken to the residence of Ms. Reshma's parents at D.J. Halli for the last rites.

Meanwhile, the K.G. Halli police converted the charges against Farook from “attempt to murder” to “murder”.

During interrogation, Farook had confessed to the crime and multiple attacks on the child in the past three months, the police said. He had been remanded in judicial custody till April 21.

Karnataka State Human Rights Commission chairman S.R. Nayak said the commission had registered a suo motu complaint on the attack and directed the police to submit a report in two months. 

Source: The Hindu