UN Peacekeeping Award Goes To Indian Army Major Abhilasha Barak
NEW YORK– Indian Army Major Abhilasha Barak, India’s first woman combat helicopter pilot, has received the 2025 United Nations Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award in recognition of her efforts to advance the role of women in peacekeeping and strengthen engagement with local communities in conflict zones.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres presented the award during ceremonies marking the International Day of UN Peacekeepers at UN Headquarters in New York. Calling Barak a role model, Guterres said she had helped transform the lives of women and girls even under challenging circumstances.
“As a frontline commander, she has engaged thousands of women and girls through vocational training and programmes for education and health,” Guterres said. He added that by building trust with local communities, she helped develop early-warning networks that strengthened the mission’s ability to protect civilians.
Barak is serving as the Engagement Team Commander and Gender Focal Point with the Indian Battalion deployed as part of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), one of the United Nations’ most challenging peacekeeping missions.
Accepting the award, Barak said, “Dreams do not have a gender, and neither does leadership, courage, or the will to serve humanity.”
She added that the recognition was a reminder that lasting peace can only be achieved when every voice is heard and every individual is empowered.
Speaking about the situation in Lebanon, Barak called for diplomacy and dialogue to help the country recover from conflict. “What I foresee further is that talks should take place, diplomacy should come into action, and hopefully the ceasefire will continue,” she said, adding that rebuilding should focus not only on damaged infrastructure but also on helping communities recover from trauma.
Barak said her work in Lebanon has included engaging women and adolescent girls through vocational training, education, health awareness, and other community programs aimed at promoting self-reliance and empowerment.
Barak is the third Indian woman officer to receive the Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award, following Major Suman Gawani and Major Radhika Sen. She is among nearly 650 Indian peacekeepers serving with UNIFIL, while more than 4,200 Indian personnel are currently deployed across UN peacekeeping missions worldwide.
The ceremony also honored peacekeepers who lost their lives in service. Guterres awarded Dag Hammarskjold Medals posthumously to 68 peacekeepers from 33 countries, including two Indian peacekeepers — Lance Havildar Harbhajan Singh, who served in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Naib Subedar Sujit Kumar Pradhan, who served in South Sudan. India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador P. Harish, received the medals on their behalf.
Paying tribute to peacekeepers worldwide, Guterres noted that nearly 4,500 UN peacekeepers have lost their lives in the line of duty over the past 78 years. More than 51,000 civilian, military, and police personnel currently serve in 11 UN peacekeeping missions around the world. (IANS)
