Malala Yousafzai: First picture of wounded Pakistan girl shot by Taliban

This is the first picture of brave schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai since she regained consciousness after surviving a Taliban assassination attempt.

It has emerged that brave Malala's asked "which country am I in" minutes after waking up.

In the snaps, released by her doctors at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham (QE), the 14-year-old can be seen with a cream shawl around her head staring intently at the camera as she lies in a hospital bed.

A yellow pipe can be seen protruding from her nose while a tracheotomy tube is visible inserted into the teenager's throat.

Faint bruising can be seen around her left eye, just below where the gunman's bullet entered her head.

A spokesperson for the QE said that it had released the image with the family's consent.

It is just ten days since she was shot in the head by a Taliban gunman

The courageous 14-year-old was airlifted to Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital after she was attacked on a school bus in Pakistan on October 9.

Today it was announced that she stood up with the help of medical staff on Thursday just two days after being brought out of a chemically induced coma.

Minutes after regaining consciousness Malala communicated with doctors by writing on a note pad: “What country am I in?”

Dr David Rosser, Medical Director at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, said: "Malala is still showing some signs of infection which is probably related to the bullet track which is our key source of concern.

"She is doing very well and in fact she's now standing with some help for the first time.

"When I came to see her this morning she was communicating very freely.

"Our specialist teams are taking a view that she needs a couple of weeks to rehabilitate to make sure this infection is cleared up and to make sure she is out of the woods.

"On Tuesday afternoon the first thing she asked the nurses was which country she was in.

"There is every sign that she understands why she is here.

"It is a very difficult position for her, going from being on the school bus and the next thing she is consciously aware of is being in a hospital bed in a strange country."

She was flown from Pakistan to Birmingham on Monday afternoon under heavy guard where she has received specialist treatment by medics more used to treating critically injured British soldiers returning for war-torn Afghanistan.

Demonstrating the moment she was shot in the head Dr Rosser used a gun hand gesture to describe how the bullet struck just above the back of her left eye, passed through her jaw and neck before becoming lodged in the tissue above her shoulder blade.

He added: "The bullet grazed part of her brain but most of the damage to the brain was caused by shock waves.

"The bullet was removed in Pakistan fairly quickly, pretty much straight after the event.

"Her airway was swollen by the passage of the bullet so a tracheotomy tube was inserted.

"She is not able to talk although we have every reason to believe that she will be able to talk once the tube has been removed.

"The next step will be skull reconstruction by inserting the bone that was lost or a titanium plate.

"She's closer to the edge of the woods, but she's not out of the woods just yet.

"But she's got the potential to make pretty much a full recovery."

Dr Rosser added that Malala had herself given permission for a more detailed account of her condition to be released after being overwhelmed by the support of British well-wishers.

He said: "She was keen that I thank people for their support and their interest as she is aware of the amount of support and interest this has generated around the world."

Arrangements are now being made by the Pakistani High Commission for Malala to speak to her parents, who remain in Pakistan.

Dr Rosser added: "We are trying to arrange for her to listen to her father on the phone.

"Family travel arrangements are being made by the Pakistani High Commission rather than the hospital."

On Thursday women's right campaigners took to the streets of Birmingham to stage a candlelit vigil in support of Malala.