A painting of Malala Yousafzai, the schoolgirl shot in the head by the Taliban for campaigning for education for girls, is set to fetch up to £47,000 when it goes up for auction next month.

The portrait of the 16-year-old was created by Jonathan Yeo and is being sold to raise money for the Malala Fund, a charity she set up to support the fight for girls' right to education.

The piece, entitled Girl Reading, will go on sale at Christie's in New York and is estimated to fetch 60,000-80,000 US dollars (£35,000-£47,000). It follows the recent Jonathan Yeo Portraits exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in London.

The exhibition, which ran from September 2013 to January 2014, featured portraits of diverse subjects including Rupert Murdoch, Kevin Spacey in his role as Richard III, Idris Elba and Michael Parkinson.

Malala became known worldwide for her courageous stance on female education in her native Pakistan and her brave recovery after being shot in the head by the Taliban.

Since the assassination attempt in October 2012, she has risen to prominence as an activist and education campaigner. On her 16th birthday last year, she gave an address to the UN at its New York headquarters calling for education for all.

The artist first met Malala in April last year during the period she was recovering from the shooting which left her with a severe head injury.

He said: "It was a great privilege to spend some time with Malala and her family at such a pivotal moment in her life."

Yeo added: "Hopefully the painting reflects the slight paradox of representing someone with enormous power and wisdom yet vulnerability and youth at the same time."

Malala said she was honoured the artist asked to paint her for his exhibition in the National Portrait Gallery and grateful Christie's agreed to auction the painting to help girls go to school around the world.

She added: "The funds raised will support the work of the Malala Fund, including helping young Syrian refugees in Jordan and girls freed from child labour now attending school in Pakistan.

"I hope that whoever buys the painting knows that their generosity will directly help children in some of the most challenging environments in the world."

The painting goes on sale on May 14 as part of Christie's day sale of post-war and contemporary art.