 "Quicksplained: Who is Major Radhika Sen, the Indian Army officer to be honoured with the UN advocacy award?")
Major Radhika Sen, who served with the United Nations Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), will be honoured with a prestigious ‘2023 United Nations Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award’.
The Award will be given by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on 30 May on the occasion of International Day of UN Peacekeepers.
Created in 2016 by the Office of Military Affairs within the Department for Peace Operations (DPO), the 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.
The award also recognises her efforts in line with the 2000 Security Council resolution aimed at protecting women and girls from conflict-related sexual violence.
Here’s all we know about her.
Who is Major Radhika Sen?
Born in Himachal Pradesh in 1993, Radhika Sen joined the Indian Army eight years ago.
She graduated as a biotech engineer and was pursuing her Master’s degree from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT) when she decided to join the armed forces.
She served in the East of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) from March 2023 to April 2024 as the Commander of MONUSCO’s Engagement Platoon for the Indian Rapid Deployment Battalion (INDRDB), according to a UN press release.
Major Sen led peacekeeping efforts in the region with a focus on gender equality, as per the UN.
She planned lessons for children in English as well as health and career education for adults.
She also created Community Alert Networks to support North Kivu communities affected by war.
Major Sen is the second Indian peacekeeper to receive this prestigious award after Major Suman Gawani, who served with the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and was honoured with the 2019 United Nations Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award.
Sen served with 1,954 individuals from MONUSCO, 32 of them were women, out of 6,063 Indian personnel assigned to UN peacekeeping missions.
Congratulating Major Sen for her service, Guterres said she is a “true leader and role model. Her service was a true credit to the United Nations as a whole.”
He further said in a statement that in an escalating conflict environment in North Kivu, her troops actively engaged with conflict-affected communities, including women and girls. She earned their trust, doing so with humility, compassion, and dedication.
Upon receiving news, Major Sen expressed her gratitude for being selected and reflected on her peacekeeping role.
“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 DRC and giving their best to bring a positive change in the society,” she said.
Notably, India is currently the 11th largest contributor of women military peacekeepers to the United Nations, with 124 now deployed. India has traditionally been among the largest troop- and police-contributing countries to UN peacekeeping missions.
With inputs from PTI
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