Inspiration ... Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai gestures after delivering her speech at the Nobel Peace Prize awards ceremony in Oslo. Picture: AFP Source: AFP

“A young girl and a somewhat older man, one from Pakistan and one from India, one Muslim, the other Hindu; both symbols of what the world needs: more unity. Fraternity between the nations!” said Thorbjoern Jagland, chairman of the Norwegian Nobel committee.

Great honour ... Malala Yousafzai and Kailash Satyarthi accept the Nobel Peace Prize Award. Picture: Getty Source: Getty Images

Malala, 17, who was given the prestigious award in Oslo City Hall overnight, became a global icon after she was shot and nearly killed by the Taliban in October 2012 for insisting that girls had a right to an education.

Honoured ... Malala Yousafzai and anti-child slavery campaigner Kailash Satyarthi accept their Nobel Peace Prize Awards at Oslo City Town Hall. Picture: Getty Source: Getty Images

Mr Satyarthi, 60, was recognised by the Nobel committee for a 35-year battle to free thousands of children from virtual slave labour.

Malala was 15 when a Taliban gunman shot her in the head as she travelled on a school bus in response to her campaign for girls’ education.

Although she almost died, she recovered after being flown for extensive surgery in Birmingham, England.

Rescued ... child slaves of the Bachpan Bachao Andolan, or Save Childhood Movement, in New Delhi cheer as founder of the organisation Kailash Satyarthi receives the Nobel Peace Prize. Picture: AP Source: AP

She has been based in the city with her family ever since, continuing both her education and activism.

Mr Satyarthi’s organisation Bachpan Bachao Andolan (Movement to Save Childhood) prides itself on liberating more than 80,000 children from bonded labour in factories and workshops across India and has networks of activists in more than 100 countries.

Hero ... Pakistani students pay tribute to Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai in Lahore. Picture: AP Source: AP

According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) there are about 168 million child labourers around the world.

Nobel winners receive eight million Swedish kronor ($1.28 million), which is shared in the case of joint wins.