Army Major Gets UN Award For Gender Advocacy
NEW YORK, NY (IANS) – Indian Army Major Radhika Sen was awarded the prestigious UN award in recognition of her advocacy for women and girls while serving as a peacekeeper.
Stephane Dujarric, the Spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, announced the award on the International Day of UN Peacekeepers. The award honors military peacekeepers who promote the principles of the 2000 Security Council resolution aimed at protecting women and girls from conflict-related sexual violence and setting gender-related responsibilities for the UN.
Congratulating her, Guterres in a statement called Sen “a true leader and role model. Her service was a true credit to the United Nations as a whole.”
Sen served with the Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), where she helped establish Community Alert Networks in North Kivu. These networks provided a platform for community leaders, young people, and women to voice their security and humanitarian concerns. Alongside her MONUSCO colleagues, Sen worked to address these concerns.
Sen said, “Gender-sensitive peacekeeping is everybody’s business – not just us, women. Peace begins with all of us in our beautiful diversity.” She added, “This award is special to me as it gives 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 society.”
Hailing from Himachal Pradesh, Sen, a biotech engineer, was studying for a master’s degree at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay when she decided to join the Army. Assigned to MONUSCO in 2023 as the Engagement Platoon Commander with the Indian Rapid Deployment Battalion, she completed her tenure in April 2024.
Sen is the second Indian peacekeeper to receive this honor, following Major Suman Gawani, who served with the UN Mission in South Sudan and received the award in 2019. Among the 6,063 Indian personnel in UN peacekeeping operations, 1,954 serve with MONUSCO, including 32 women.
