Girl 15, has surgery for Taliban bullet

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BIRMINGHAM, England, Feb. 3 (UPI) -- A 15-year-old Pakistani women's rights activist wounded by a Taliban gunman successfully underwent surgery in England, doctors said.

Schoolgirl Malala Yousufzai had five-hour surgery for cranial reconstruction and cochlear implantation Saturday and was recovering in a Birmingham hospital, London's Sky News reported.

Yousufzai was shot on Oct. 9 for promoting women's rights in Pakistan and was flown that month to Britain for treatment after Pakistani doctors saved her life, Sky News reported.

A custom-made titanium plate was fitted in the girl's head to repair skull damage and the doctors predict the cochlear implant will eventually almost completely restore hearing in her left ear, Sky News reported.

"She's not naive at all about what happened to her and the situation in terms of her high-profile. She's incredibly determined to continue to speak for her cause," said Dr. Dave Rosser, the University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust's medical director.