The airwaves filled with leaders and commentators who publicly got behind her, and journalists closely followed her story, drawing death threats from the Taliban for their coverage.
Army Chief Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani took a stand from Malala's hospital, declaring: "We refuse to bow before terror."
Pakistan's first female foreign minister, Hina Rabbani Khar, decried the attempted assassination as "a wake-up call (to) a clear and present danger."
Interior Minister Rehman Malik dubbed Malala "the pride of Pakistan" and announced that her local school would be renamed for her, changing from "Khushal Public School" to "Malala Public High School."
Authorities in Swat renamed a college after her. Malala later requested that schools not be named for her, to prevent them from becoming prominent targets for the Pakistani Taliban.
The United Nations launched a campaign for girls' education named "I am Malala." Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the attack and praised Malala's cause.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton commended the blogger's bravery; Actress Angelina Jolie donated $50,000 to a charity in Malala's name. And singer Madonna shouted her name from a stage, dedicating a song to her.
Malik proclaimed that the two other girls injured in the attack on Malala -- Kainat Riaz Ahmed and Shazia Ramzan -- will be honored with the third-highest military award, the Star of Courage. It is not normally given to civilians.
Gordon Brown and Malala galvanize action
"Pakistan has a new heroine and a new cause -- a girl's right to education," former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown wrote in an opinion piece published by CNN.
Brown, who heads up the "I am Malala" campaign in his role as United Nations special envoy on global education, toured Pakistan to boost education with international funding and local initiatives. It was his office that declared Malala Day.
After her shooting, Brown visited schools, including hers. He talked education for three days with Pakistan's president, Cabinet ministers, educational nongovernmental organizations, donors and a covey of U.N. charities.
Malala's path from near mortal wound to recovery
In addition to removing the bullet, doctors extracted a piece of skull to relieve pressure on Malala's brain because of swelling. Malala was taken by helicopter from one military hospital in Pakistan to another, where doctors placed her in a medically induced coma, so an air ambulance could fly her to Great Britain for treatment.
"She is lucky to be alive," Dr. Dave Rosser, the medical director of University Hospitals in Birmingham, UK, told reporters after her arrival.
Then came the light at the end of the tunnel. Examinations revealed that Malala suffered no major neurological damage.
More than a week after being shot a world away, Malala got back on her feet again, able to stand when leaning on a nurse's arm at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham. Eager to communicate, she wrote sentences on paper -- she couldn't talk at first because of a tracheotomy.
"Malala is a strong young woman and has worked hard with the people caring for her to make excellent progress in her recovery," Rosser said on her release.
She has returned to her family and continues therapies as an outpatient at the hospital where she will undergo further surgery on her skull.
Chasing the perpetrators
Malik, the Pakistani interior minister, quickly placed a $1 million bounty on the head of Pakistani Taliban spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan, after he claimed responsibility for Malala's attack on behalf of the group.
Police immediately took the van driver and the school guard into custody for questioning and rounded up dozens in the course of the investigation.
They have identified the shooters as two boys, but their main suspect is an adult, who the police say drove the youths to the scene -- Atta Ullah Khan, 23. All three were at large.
In an interview with CNN, Khan's sister apologized to Malala for his alleged involvement.
"What he did was intolerable," Rehana Haleem said. "I don't consider Atta Ullah my brother anymore."
