New Delhi. India will deploy an all-woman platoon of peacekeepers to Abyei, a region accorded special administrative status located on the border of south- Sudan and Sudan. As part of the Indian Battalion in the United Nations Interim Security Force, Abyei (UNISFA) on 06 January 2023. Ruchira Kamboj, Indian Ambassador to the United Nations, said, “This is the single largest deployment of women peacekeepers in recent years. Good wishes to the team.”
The Indian contingent consists of two officers and people from 25 other ranks. They will work as a platoon and focus on community outreach in addition to carrying out several security-related duties.
This will be India’s largest single unit of female troops on a UN Mission since India deployed its first-ever all-female force in Liberia in 2007.
The mission has been given the responsibility of keeping an eye on the hotspot border between the north and south and allowing the delivery of humanitarian aid. It is also allowed to use force to defend Abyei’s civilians and relief workers.
The deployment will also signal India’s intention to increase the proportion of women in peacekeeping contingents.
India has a long history of sending women on UN missions for peacekeeping purposes. Women peacekeepers are widely valued in peacekeeping missions around the world for their capacity to interact with and assist local women and children, particularly those who have experienced sexual assault in crisis areas.
Women Peacekeepers are highly regarded in Peacekeeping 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. Indian women particularly have a rich tradition in Peacekeeping. Dr Kiran Bedi, UN’s first Police Adviser, Major Suman Gawani and Ms Shakti Devi have made a mark for themselves in UN Peacekeeping. 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.
Input – Republic World
