Women’s power: India deploys all-women platoon as UN peacekeepers in Africa
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: India on Friday announced the deployment of an all-women platoon as United Nations Peacekeepers in Abyei on the border between South Sudan and Sudan in Africa.
This is India’s single-largest unit of women peacekeepers, the Blue Helmets, in a UN Mission. The deployment of the first-ever all-women’s contingent took place in Liberia, also in Africa, in 2007.
India is among the largest troop-contributing countries to the UN peacekeeping missions. As of October 31, 2022, India is the second largest contributor to the UN Peacekeeping Missions with 5,887 troops and personnel deployed across 12 missions, after Bangladesh (7,017).
“India is deploying an all #women’s platoon of peacekeepers as part of our battalion to the UN mission in #Abyei @UNISFA_1. This is the single largest deployment of women #peacekeepers in recent years. Good wishes to the team!” India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ruchira Kamboj, tweeted Thursday. She also added a photo of the contingent.
Kamboj said it is a part of the Indian battalion in the UN Interim Security Force, Abyei (UNISFA), deployed on Friday (January 6, 2023).
The Indian contingent, comprising two officers and 25 other ranks, will form part of an engagement platoon and specialize in community outreach. It will perform extensive security-related tasks as well.
The media reported that their presence will be especially welcome in Abyei, where a recent spurt in violence has triggered a spate of challenging humanitarian concerns for women and children in the conflict zone.
In September 2022, Kamboj said in a UN Security Council briefing on the UN Peacekeeping Operations that India had deployed the first-ever all-women peacekeeping contingent in Liberia in 2007, which inspired a whole generation of Liberian women to take part in their country’s security sector.
India noted that women peacekeepers are highly regarded in UN missions throughout the world for their ability to reach out and connect with women and children in local populations, especially victims of sexual violence in conflict zones.
The UN’s first Police Adviser Dr. Kiran Bedi, UN Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award 2019 honoree Major Suman Gawain, and Shakti Devi have made a mark for themselves in UN Peacekeeping.
In 2014, Devi, an officer with the Jammu and Kashmir Police, was deployed to the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). She was honored with the International Female Police Peacekeeper Award by the UN’s Police Division for her exceptional achievements with the mission, including her efforts toward helping victims of sexual and gender-based violence.
“Our teams in the Congo and South Sudan have also done sterling work in mainstreaming women and children into community and social developmental projects at the grassroots level,” the Indian mission said.
The role of the 125-strong women peacekeepers of the Indian Formed Police Unit deployed with the UN mission in Liberia has been lauded for inspiring women in the West African nation to become police officers.
Then UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had hailed the Indian women’s peacekeeping unit in Liberia as an inspiration for all, saying their conduct served as an example of how women can help the world body in its efforts to combat sexual exploitation and abuse.
