India will begin deploying women troops as part of the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) in South Sudan, the country’s foreign minister, Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, stated on Friday.
Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said that ‘a Platoon of women peacekeepers deployed today as part of the Indian Battalion in UNISFA, Abyei’. He said, referring to India’s long history of participation in UN peacekeeping deployments, ‘Our cherished heritage of UN Peacekeeping represents Nari Shakti (women taking leadership)’.
With a cumulative soldier participation of more than 200,000, the South Asian juggernaut has participated in 49 United Nations peacekeeping deployments. In 8 of the 13 UN peacekeeping missions that are currently operational, India has peacekeeping soldiers deployed.
Women in UN peacekeeping deployments
India dispatched an all-female Formed Police Unit (FPU) to be deployed in war-torn Liberia in 2007 for the first time in the history of UN peacekeeping. The United Nations has claimed in the past that more women are now participating in peacekeeping missions, which has led to improved operations.
By 2020, women will make up 48% of military contingents, 10.9 percent of newly constituted police units, and 34% of government-provided judicial and correctional staff in UN Peacekeeping operations, out of a total of around 95,000 peacekeepers.
15% by 2028, and 25% for military observers and staff officers, are the goals for women participating in military contingents. 20% by 2028 is the target number for women working in organised police forces, and 30% of all police officers.
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