United Nations:

Major Radhika Sen, an Indian woman peacekeeper who served with the UN mission in Congo, was Thursday honoured with a prestigious military gender advocate award, with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres describing her as a “true leader and role model.” 

Major Sen, who served with the UN Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), received the ‘2023 United Nations Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award’ from Guterres during a ceremony here on the occasion of the International Day of UN Peacekeepers.

#IndianArmy congratulates Major Radhika Sen on being conferred with the ‘UN Military Gender Advocate of the Year’ Award by Mr António Guteress, Secretary-General of the United Nations, at #UN Headquarters, #NewYork for her outstanding service in the Democratic Republic of the… pic.twitter.com/qJjyFtm1S3

— ADG PI – INDIAN ARMY (@adgpi) May 30, 2024

Major Sen served in the East of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) from March 2023 to April 2024 as the Commander of MONUSCO’s Engagement Platoon for the Indian Rapid Deployment Battalion (INDRDB), a UN press release said.

Born in Himachal Pradesh in 1993, Major Sen joined the Indian Army eight years ago. She graduated as a biotech engineer and was pursuing her Master’s degree from IIT Bombay when she decided to join the armed forces. She was deployed to MONUSCO in March 2023 as the Engagement Platoon Commander with the Indian Rapid Deployment Battalion and completed her tenure in April 2024.

Congratulating Major Sen for her service, Mr Guterres said she is a “true leader and role model. Her service was a true credit to the United Nations as a whole.” He further said in a statement that in an escalating conflict environment in North Kivu, her troops actively engaged with conflict-affected communities, including women and girls. She earned their trust, doing so with humility, compassion, and dedication.

The statement added that upon receiving news of the award, Major Sen expressed her gratitude for being selected and reflected on her peacekeeping role.

“This award is special to me as it gives a recognition to the hard work put in by all the peacekeepers working in the challenging environment of DRC and giving their best to bring a positive change in the society,” she said. “Gender-sensitive peacekeeping is everybody’s business – not just us, women. Peace begins with all of us in our beautiful diversity!” 

Major Sen led mixed-gender engagement patrols and activities in a volatile environment, where many people, including women and children, were leaving everything behind to flee the conflict, the statement said.

The Community Alert Networks she helped create in North Kivu served as a platform, including community leaders, young people and women to voice their security and humanitarian concerns, which she would in turn help address together with her colleagues in the Mission.

As a Platoon commander, she helped foster a safe space for men and women to operate together under her command and quickly became a role model for both women peacekeepers and their male counterparts. She also ensured that peacekeepers under her command engaged in a manner that was sensitive to gender and socio-cultural norms in eastern DRC to help build trust and thereby increase her team’s chance of success.

Major Sen facilitated English classes for children, and health, gender and vocational training for displaced and marginalised adults. Her efforts directly inspired women’s solidarity, providing safe spaces for meetings and open dialogue.

As a gender advocate, she encouraged women in the village of Kashlira, near Rwindi town, to organise themselves to address issues collectively, advocate for their rights and amplify their voices within the community, in particular in local security and peace discussions.

Major Sen is the second Indian peacekeeper to receive this award after Major Suman Gawani, who had served with the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and was honoured with the 2019 United Nations Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award.

Created in 2016, the UN ‘Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award recognises the dedication and efforts of an individual military peacekeeper in promoting the principles of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security. Created by the Office of Military Affairs within the Department for Peace Operations (DPO), the Award recognises a military peacekeeper who has best integrated a gender perspective into peacekeeping activities. Each year, the awardee is selected from among candidates nominated by Force Commanders and Heads of Mission from all peace operations, according to UN Peacekeeping.

India is currently the 11th largest contributor of women military peacekeepers to the United Nations with 124 now deployed. India has traditionally been among the largest troop and police-contributing countries to UN peacekeeping missions

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Major Radhika Sen, a peacekeeper who served with the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo, was pursuing a career in biotechnology before she joined the Indian Army. Major Sen said it was after she made the switch that she realised there was no better way for her to serve humanity and the country.

Speaking exclusively to NDTV, the Major, who will be honoured by the United Nations with the prestigious 2023 Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award, also said that being part of the Indian Army made the challenges faced by her in the Congo easier because soldiers in the force work in different regions of the country and are exposed to different environments.

Major Sen will receive the award, which recognises a military peacekeeper who has best integrated a gender perspective into peacekeeping activities, from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Asked about the challenge of ensuring that peacekeepers under her command recognised the importance of gender and socio-cultural norms in the country, Major Sen, who served with the Organisation Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), said, “The country has a long history. It has its own culture. It has its own tradition. There are many socio-economic issues that happen. But, I would say, being a part of India, which is a culturally rich and a diverse country, and especially being a part of the Indian Army, helped.

“Because all my soldiers have been working in different regions of the country, and they have served in different terrains, they have seen different environments, it was not really challenging for me to have a team. I would say it was their support and cooperation which has motivated me and helped me to get the information and the concerns of the people better. So, (it was) because we are from India and the Indian Army gives you all the opportunity and exposure possible (that) it was easy for me,” she asserted. 

On rape and violence being used as an implement of warfare in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Major Sen said it is very important for peacekeeping forces to have a gender perspective because it helps build an inclusive and sustainable peace process.

“In any conflict, it is always the women and the girls who are more affected and who face increased risk of abuse. So, I would say, why should any human being suffer? As women peacekeepers, we try and address their concerns and encourage them to raise their voices,” she said. 

The officer explained that they realised that talking to the country’s leadership wasn’t enough and they began to speak to local communities to get a better idea of issues facing the people in the country. 

“We had also involved ourselves into creating awareness about many topics that concern women, like women’s health and education on sexual violence in conflict. We also engaged with people on creating employment training, like baking and tailoring for women and English training for children. So there were multiple things that we tried to do in order to engage with people which could help us address their concerns better,” she said. 

The major also spoke about misinformation spread against MONUSCO and said there were times when they were engaging with people that they had to get into vehicles and return because stones were thrown at them. 

The Major Switch

Major Sen graduated as a biotech engineer and was pursuing a Master’s degree from IIT Bombay when she decided to join the Army. 

When she was asked about what made her make the switch, she said, “I always wanted to serve humanity and India, but I always thought I would I’ll be a scientist and do it. In my last year of college, I applied for an SSB (Service Selection Board), just for the sake of it. And I went for the SSB just to see Allahabad, I thought I will see a new place and, somehow, I just cleared it.”

“I was enjoying studying – I love science. I love to study. It was my parents who have taught me there are many ways of serving mankind and the country, and I think there’s no better way for me to do it than what I’m doing now. And I cannot be happier that I chose this field and it’s just really good to be a part of the armed forces,” she emphasised.

 Indian Army Major Radhika Sen has been selected to receive a UN award recognising her advocacy for women and girls while serving as a peacekeeper, Stephane Dujarric, the Spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, announced here.

Dujarric said that Guterres will present Ms Sen with the 2023 Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award on Thursday, which is observed as the International Day of UN Peacekeepers.

The award recognises the efforts of a military peacekeeper in promoting the principles of the 2000 Security Council resolution that calls for protecting women and girls from conflict-related sexual violence and sets gender-related responsibilities for the UN.

Congratulating her, Guterres called her “a true leader and role model. Her service was a true credit to the United Nations as a whole”.

Ms Sen served with the Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) where she helped create the Community Alert Networks in North Kivu as a platform that brought in community leaders, young people, and women “to voice their security and humanitarian concerns”, according to the UN.

With her MONUSCO colleagues, she worked to address those concerns.

Guterres said that “with humility, compassion and dedication”, she earned the trust of “conflict-affected communities, including women and girls” as her troops engaged with them “in an escalating conflict environment in North Kivu”.

Ms Sen said, “Gender-sensitive peacekeeping is everybody’s business – not just us, women. Peace begins with all of us in our beautiful diversity.”

“This award is special to me as it gives a recognition to the hard work put in by all the peacekeepers working in the challenging environment of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and giving their best to bring a positive change in the society,” she added.

Hailing from Himachal Pradesh, Sen is a biotech engineer who was studying for a master’s degree at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay when she decided to join the Army.

She was assigned to MONUSCO in 2023 as the Engagement Platoon Commander with the Indian Rapid Deployment Battalion, and completed her tenure in April 2024.

Sen is the second Indian peacekeeper to receive the honour after Major Suman Gawani, who served with the UN Mission in South Sudan and received the award in 2019.

Of the 6,063 Indian personnel in UN peacekeeping operations, 1,954 serve with MONUSCO, 32 of them women.

The UN said that Sen, who led mixed-gender engagement patrols and activities, became a role model for both men and women by fostering “a safe space for men and women to operate together under her command”.

She also made sure that peacekeepers under her command operated with sensitivity to gender and sociocultural norms in the eastern DRC “to help build trust and thereby increase her team’s chance of success”, the UN said.

Among the activities she launched for women were English language classes for children, and health, gender, and vocational training for adults.

“Her efforts directly inspired women’s solidarity, providing safe spaces for meetings and open dialogue”, the UN said.

She encouraged women in the village of Kashlira, near Rwindi town, to organise themselves to advocate for their rights, particularly in local security and peace discussions.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)