- India
- May 23
- Sreesha V.M
Major Abhilasha Barak to receive UN Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award
• Major Abhilasha Barak, Indian peacekeeper serving in UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), has been named the recipient of 2025 United Nations Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award.
• She has been honoured for her outreach and community engagement activities for women and adolescent girls and gender sensitisation training for peacekeepers.
• She is also the first woman combat helicopter pilot of the Indian Army.
• She will be honoured at the UN headquarters when the world body commemorates the International Day of UN Peacekeepers that is marked annually on May 29.
• Barak is the third recipient of the award from the country, following Major Suman Gawani and Major Radhika Sen, who were honoured for their commendable work while serving in UN Peacekeeping missions.
• Gawani had served with the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and received the 2019 United Nations Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award.
• Major Radhika Sen, who served with the United Nations Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), received the prestigious 2023 United Nations Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award.
• India is among the largest troop and police contributing countries to UN peacekeeping missions.
• As of February 2026, UNIFIL’s force consists of 7,538 peacekeepers from 48 troop-contributing countries, including 642 personnel from India, the fourth highest after Italy (784), Indonesia (756) and Spain (660).
UN Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award
• Created in 2016 by the Office of Military Affairs within the Department for Peace Operations (DPO), the Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award recognises a military peacekeeper who has best integrated a gender perspective into peacekeeping activities.
• Every year, the awardee is selected among candidates nominated by Force Commanders and Heads of Mission from all peace operations.
• The Award is underpinned by the principles outlined in United Nations Security Council resolution and follow-on resolutions on women, peace and security.
• The resolutions call on actors to mainstream a gender perspective in all aspects of peacekeeping and peacebuilding and to ensure women’s participation in peace and political processes. They also call for the protection from, and prevention of, conflict-related sexual violence and for an expansion of the role and contribution of women in UN operations, including of uniformed women peacekeepers.
(The author is a trainer for Civil Services aspirants.)