Pakistani students and rights activists are honoring the 15-year-old Pakistani girl who was shot and seriously wounded by the Taliban a month ago.
The United Nations designated Saturday to be "Malala Day" as a global tribute to Malala Yousafzai, who was targeted by gunmen for promoting the right of girls to attend school and for documenting Taliban atrocities.
In her hometown of Mingora in the northwestern Swat Valley, hundreds of students prayed for her early recovery and vowed to continue her mission. Her supporters also gathered in Karachi and other Pakistani cities.
Taliban gunmen shot Malala Yousafzai in the head and neck in the Swat Valley. She was internationally recognized for her work.
She is now recovering from her wounds at a hospital in Britain.
On Friday, former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown presented Pakistan's government with a petition with more than one million signatures in support of Malala.
Mr. Brown, the U.N.'s envoy for global education, says a new foundation has been created to honor Malala. The Malala Foundation will do the work the teenager told her friends just weeks before she was shot that she wanted to do -- campaign for the 32 million girls around the world who are not in school.
Nearly 90,000 people have signed another petition to have Malala nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.
Also Friday, Malala's father paid tribute to those around the world who have shown her support.
Ziauddin Yousafzai spoke from Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, England, where Malala is being treated. He said she is recovering well and wants everyone to know she has been inspired and humbled by the thousands of cards, messages and gifts she has received.