Major Suman Gawani, an Indian Army
officer who served as a women peacekeeper with the United Nations Mission in
South Sudan in 2019 is being awarded the prestigious – United Nations Military
Gender Advocate of the year Award. She will receive the award from the UN
Secretary General Antonio Guterres during an online ceremony today being
organised at the UN Headquarters, New York on the occasion of International Day
of United Nations Peacekeepers. Major Suman will receive this award along
with a Brazilian Naval Officer Commander Carla Monteiro de Castro Araujo.
Major Suman served as a Military observer in United Nations
Mission in South Sudan, UNMISS from November 2018 to December 2019. The officer
encouraged participation in joint military patrols to maintain gender balance,
irrespective of the hardships under extreme field conditions. She visited
various mission team sites across South Sudan to integrate gender perspective
into the planning and military activity in the mission.
The officer was selected to attend a specialised training on Conflict
Related Sexual Violence at Nairobi and participated in various UN forums to
demonstrate how a gender perspective can help in protecting civilians,
especially from conflict related sexual violence. Apart from supporting the
UNMISS Force initiatives, she also trained the South Sudan government forces on
Conflict Related Sexual Violence related aspects. The officer also commanded
the UN Peacekeepers Day Parade organised at UNMISS.
