India’s UN envoy highlighted the vital role of women peacekeepers and celebrated India’s pioneering work in the field. Speaking at the U.N. Security Council’s 25th‑anniversary discussion of Resolution 1325, Permanent Representative Parvathaneni Harish praised India’s long history of deploying women in peace missions.
India was a trailblazer long before Resolution 1325 was adopted in 2000. In the 1960s, the country sent female medical officers to the Congo—one of the earliest UN peacekeeping spots for women. This move showed that the U.N. needed women’s perspectives, skills and presence to build lasting peace.
In 2007, India set another milestone by sending the first all‑female police unit to Liberia. The unit did more than keep the streets safe; it inspired local women to join law enforcement and became a symbol of empowerment. The deployment cut crime rates and proved that women can be both protectors and role models.
Kiran Bedi, the first woman officer of the Indian Police Service, broke new ground in 2003 when she became the first female Police Advisor and head of the U.N. Police Division. Today, over 160 Indian women serve overseas, including all‑female teams in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Abyei in Sudan and South Sudan.
Major Suman Gawani earned the U.N. Military Gender Advocate Award in 2019 for her work in South Sudan, and Major Radhika Sen received the same award in 2024 for her contributions in the DRC. These honors underscore India’s steady commitment to the Women Peace and Security (WPS) agenda. “It’s no longer a question of whether women can do peacekeeping,” Harish said. “It’s whether peacekeeping can do without them.”
Women peacekeepers build trust in local communities, offer hope to women and children, and help fight gender‑based violence. They ensure that peace talks reflect every voice and inspire others to step into leadership roles. As India’s External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar put it, “women peacekeepers are messengers of peace.”
India invests heavily in training women for peace missions. The Centre for United Nations Peacekeeping, run by the Indian Army in New Delhi, trains about 12,000 troops a year. Since 2016, it has offered a special course for female officers, training 72 women from 39 countries that year. The program covers operational planning, civilian protection, preventing sexual exploitation and abuse, and gender‑sensitive leadership. Mobile training teams also travel worldwide to share best practices.
Ambassador Harish urged partners—especially those in the Global South—to join India in strengthening women’s roles in conflict resolution. He also pointed to Pakistan’s past failings with women’s rights, citing the 1971 Operation Searchlight. His remarks reinforced India’s unwavering dedication to WPS and its readiness to share expertise to address shared challenges.
The speech was shared by the Indian Mission on X (formerly Twitter) under the hashtag #IndiaAtUN. The debate marked 25 years of Resolution 1325, a milestone that highlights the disproportionate impact of armed conflict on women and girls and the need to safeguard their rights.
Source: aninews
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