Nobel Peace Prize Goes to Malala Yousafzai, Kailash Satyarthi

The Nobel Peace Prize went to two very unique people fighting for the rights of children for dignity, education and a basic liberty to their childhood.

The Peace prize went to Kailash Satyarthi, 60, an Indian child rights activist with his organization Bachpan Bachao Andolan leading the drive against child labor in India. The other winner is Malala Yousafzai, 17, from Pakistan, fighting for the right to education of girls. She was targeted by the Taliban who shot her in the head for insisting on girls' right to education.

"Child slavery is a crime against humanity. Humanity itself is at stake here. A lot of work still remains but I will see the end of child labor in my lifetime," Satyarthi told The Associated Press at his office in New Delhi.

Satyarthi is an engineer who has been fighting relentlessly to free children in bonded labor working in various cottage industries like carpet making, incense and cracker manufacturing.

Malala  is the youngest  Nobel peace Prize winner and was in school in Birmingham when news of her winning the prize was announced. Her father,  Ziauddin Yousufzai, said, "(The Nobel will) boost the courage of Malala and enhance her capability to work for the cause of girls' education," reports the AP.

By giving the award to two people belonging to neighboring countries  busy locking heads , the Committee has managed to link the problems of child rights faced by these nations.

"In conflict-ridden areas in particular, the violation of children leads to the continuation of violence from generation to generation," the Nobel committee said, Friday.

The two were named winner of the $1.11million prize by the chairman of the Nobel committee - Norway's former prime minister Thorbjoern Jagland.

The Nobel Prizes in medicine, chemistry, physics and literature were announced earlier this week. The economics award will be announced on Monday. All awards will be presented  on Dec. 10, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel's death in 1896.

Read the announcement of Peace Prize here by the committee.