Pakistan's female peacekeeper wins award for gender advocacy

UNITED NATIONS: Pakistan Army's Major Sania Safdar, who is serving with the United Nations Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), became its first peacekeeper to receive the 2023 "Certificate of Recognition" for advocating gender equality, according to the mission.

The award, issued by the New York-based UN Department for Peace Operations, was presented to her by the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in Cyprus, Colin Stewart.

“Receiving this certificate as the first peacekeeper from UNFICYP is deeply meaningful to me and significant for our mission in Cyprus,” Maj Safdar said. “It serves as a testament to our commitment to gender equality.”

Created in 2016, the UN's “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 (WPS). 

In addition to the award, the Department for Peace Operations also recognises military personnel from other UN Missions who are contributing to advance the WPS' agenda in different countries where peacekeeping operations are in place.

In Cyprus, Major Safdar is currently serving as the Mission's Force Signal Officer and one of the UNFICYP's military gender focal points. Her primary tasks involve overseeing communication systems and promoting gender equality within military component.

Since her deployment last year, she proactively took charge of several initiatives to contribute to achieve this recognition by focusing on integrating the Women, Peace, and Security Agenda into military components of the mission's work, the mission said.

As the mission's force signal officer serving in the field technology section, she was also involved in strengthening the effectiveness of joint patrols by incorporating communication tools to enhance military operations on the ground while, promoting gender representation in military.

Participation of women in peacekeeping missions brings diverse perspectives and skills that enhance operational effectiveness and foster inclusive approaches to conflict resolution, according to the mission. Their meaningful participation promotes gender equality within operations, contributing to more comprehensive and sustainable peace efforts.

“UNFICYP is on a steady curve to increase its statistics on the number of women in peacekeeping as well as promoting their participation while engaging with Member States to encourage further representation of uniformed women as critical actors in fulfilling the Mission's mandate.”

Major Safdar's recognition award serves as a “testament to UNFICYP's commitment to gender equality”, it added.