India working to add more women peacekeepers at UN

New Delhi, May 29

Commemorating the 76th International Day of United Nations (UN) Peacekeepers, the Indian Army today said it was working to meet UN targets of adding more women peacekeepers to missions abroad.

This comes just a day after the UN announced an award for Major Radhika Sen. The UN has set out mandated targets to increase the participation of women peacekeepers as part of its gender parity drive to better address the concerns of local women population in the missions.

In full support of the UN’s noble initiative and in sync with Nari Shakti initiative, India has deployed ‘female engagement teams’ in Congo, Golan Heights and women officers and military observers in various missions. “The contribution towards other missions has also been increased as per plan,” the Ministry of Defence said. Lieutenant General Rakesh Kapoor, Deputy Chief of the Army Staff, officials of the United Nations, Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of External Affairs observed UN Peacekeepers Day today by laying wreaths at the National War Memorial, New Delhi.