Malala Yousafzai was awarded the 95th Nobel Peace Prize alongside Kaillash Satyarthi on Friday for her work promoting children’s education rights.

Malala Yousafzai Wins Nobel Peace Prize

Yousafzai, 17, who hails from Pakistan, has been in the public eye since 2012, when she was shot in the head while on her way to school. Following the incident, Yousafzai, who’d already been vocal about education in the Middle East, became the most recognizable face of the education movement in the region. She has now become the youngest person to win the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize, reported BBC News.

"Despite her youth, Malala Yousafzai, has already fought for several years for the right of girls to education and has shown by example that children and young people too can contribute to improving their own situations," said Thorbjorn Jagland, chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee.

"This she has done under the most dangerous circumstances,” Jagland continued. “Through her heroic struggle she has become a leading spokesperson for girls' rights to education."

Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif congratulated Yousafzai in a statement upon learning of the news. "Her achievement is unparalleled and unequalled,” Sharif said. “Girls and boys of the world should take the lead from her struggle and commitment.”

Yousafzai and fellow Nobel Peace Prize winner, Satyarthi of India, are invited to the ceremony in Oslo in December. There, they will each receive a medal and $1.4 million in prize money.