In an inspired selection by the Norwegian Nobel Committee, two humble crusaders for children's rights — Malala Yousafzai and Kailash Satyarthi — were awarded the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize. Their work, and their award, is an antithesis, and maybe even an antidote, to today's bleak geopolitical problems.

Indeed, it seems that in an increasingly turbulent world where conflicts and crises become everyday terms (the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL, Al-Qaida, Taliban, Crimea, Gaza, even Ebola), Yousafzai and Satyarthi are examples of how ordinary citizens can react to extraordinary times.

Yousafzai — known almost universally as Malala since she was the target of a Taliban assassination attempt in her native Pakistan — has shown remarkable courage in advocating for the rights of girls and women to be educated. She showed equivalent grit healing and then amplifying her advocacy after her recovery.

Denying girls and women the right to learn is just one symptom of the cancer that extremists like ISIL, Al-Qaida and the Taliban represent. And it's not just in the Mideast — the literal translation of Boko Haram, the name of the Islamic insurgency terrorizing Nigeria, is "Western education is forbidden."

In its citation, the Nobel Committee noted that in the world's poorer countries, 60 percent of the population is under age 25. "It is a prerequisite for peaceful global development that the rights of children and young people be respected," the committee said. "In conflict-ridden areas in particular, the violation of children leads to the continuation of violence from generation to generation."

Illegal child labor is another violation, if not another form of violence, against children. And Satyarthi, who the Nobel Committee said maintained Gandhi's tradition, has dedicated his adult life trying to end it. He led the nonviolent 1988 Global March against Child Labor, which included rescued children marching through 60 countries on their way to Geneva. He also championed a more recent push to pass a Right to Education Law in his native India.

Worldwide, the committee wrote, it is estimated that there are 168 million child laborers. That stunning figure is still down an estimated 78 million from 14 years ago, thanks in part to the work of Satyarthi and other intrepid activists.

This year's Peace Prize is notable on many levels. For one, it was awarded to individuals, instead of institutions like last year's recipient, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, or the European Union, which won in 2012. Perhaps it's reflective of the failure of the international system, however well-meaning, to provide security in an increasingly unsafe world.

But the selection seemed directly designed to reflect deep divides, as well as the need and the ability to bridge them.

Malala, for instance, is young. At 17, she's the youngest Peace Prize recipient ever. Satyarthi, conversely, is 60. There are other differences, too, including gender, geography, faith and fame.

Malala is a globally recognized Pakistani Muslim; Satyarthi, previously obscure outside of India, is Hindu. Their two great nations have a history of enmity, and a dangerous present, too: As recently as this week, they traded fire over the disputed Kashmir region. At least 19 were killed, with victims on both sides of the border.

"The Nobel Committee regards it as an important point for a Hindu and a Muslim, an Indian and a Pakistani, to join a common struggle for education and against extremism," the official Nobel announcement said. Ideally, their nuclear-armed nations will work to reduce tensions, too.

A Nobel Peace Prize alone will not disarm nihilistic, misogynistic extremists who commit crimes against girls, young women and, by extension, humanity. It alone will not prosecute the perpetrators of illegal, immoral child labor. But it adds moral force to Malala, Satyarthi, and countless other individuals and institutions working against the malevolence present in so many places right now. Their award is well-deserved, and hopefully it will help spur similar courage in others.