India's women peacekeepers inspire women in conflict zones, enhance protection

United Nations, Oct 28 (IANS) India’s women peacekeepers inspire women in conflict zones and improve civilian protection, the UN Peacebuilding Commission was told.

Indian women peacekeepers, who were pioneers in the UN mission deployments, “inspire women in conflict zones through example, that they, too, can be leaders and peacebuilders,” P. Wilson said on Monday at the Commission’s meeting on Women, Peace and Security.

“They build trust in communities and give hope to vulnerable populations, particularly women and children,” he said, and “most critically, they help address gender-based violence and ensure that peace processes reflect the needs and perspectives of all segments of society”.

Wilson, who is a Rajya Sabha member from the DMK, began his speech with the Tamil greeting, “Vanakam”, and ended it with “Nanri” (“Thanks”).

He is one of the MPs joining the delegation to the General Assembly.

Monday’s meeting was in observance of the 25th anniversary of the Security Council’s adoption of a landmark resolution that called for enhancing the role of women in UN missions, involving them in peace negotiations, and protecting them against violence.

Long before the resolution was adopted, Indian women medical officers served in the peacekeeping operation in Congo in the 1960s, Wislon said.

What makes India’s peacekeeping legacy unique is that it was among the first to recognise that women are “indispensable agents of sustainable peace,” he said.

The UN’s first all-women police unit came from India when it was deployed in Liberia in 2007, and “this pioneering initiative inspired local women to join their national police and security services”, he said.

The Centre for United Nations Peacekeeping in New Delhi is a "global centre of excellence for gender-responsive training that conducts courses for women peacekeepers”, he said.

“Earlier this year, India hosted the first-of-its-kind International Conference for Women Peacekeepers from the Global South,” he added.

At the national level, Wilson said, women-led development has transformed society, and more than 1.4 million women are elected representatives at the grassroots level, he said.

--IANS

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