In this image posted on May 23, 2026, Indian Army officer serving in the UN Interim Force Commander of the Female Engagement Team (FET) in Lebanon (UNIFIL), Major Abhilasha Barak, has been named the recipient of 2025 United Nations Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award for her outreach efforts with women and girls during her deployment in the West Asian nation.
| Photo Credit:
Via PTI
India Army’s Major Abhilasha Barak -- the first woman combat helicopter pilot -- will receive the ‘UN’s 2025 Military Gender Advocate of the Year’ on Friday, which is a recognition for her vital outreach work with women and girls during her ongoing peacekeeping assignment in Lebanon.Currently deployed with the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), Major Barak will receive the prestigious honour as part of the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers on May 29, held annually to pay homage to the “Blue Helmets” who have made the ultimate sacrifice while serving in peacekeeping missions worldwide.Barak will be the third recipient of the prestigious award from India, after Major Suman Gawani and Major Radhika Sen. The trio were honoured for their commendable work while serving in UN Peacekeeping missions.Barak is serving with the Indian Battalion as the Commander of the Female Engagement Team (FET) in UNIFIL.Gawani, who had served with the UN Mission in South Sudan, was honoured with the 2019 United Nations Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award. Sen, who served with MONUSCO, received the 2023 award.It will be a proud day for India as two other Indian peacekeepers will be honoured posthumously for their ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty.UN Secretary-General António Guterres will posthumously bestow the prestigious Dag Hammarskjöld Medal upon Lance Havildar Harbhajan Singh and Naib Subedar Sujit Kumar Pradhan. While Singh served with the UN Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), Pradhan was deployed with the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).He will also preside over a solemn ceremony at which the Dag Hammarskjold Medal will be awarded posthumously to 68 military, police and civilian peacekeepers, who paid the ultimate price in the line of duty, including 59 who died last year.As the second-largest contributor of uniformed personnel to UN peacekeeping, India currently deploys more than 4,200 military and police personnel—including 155 women—across nine global missions, including South Sudan, Lebanon, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.This deep commitment to global stability has come at a high cost: nearly 180 Indian peacekeepers have died in the line of duty, marking the highest casualty toll suffered by any troop-contributing nation.Published on May 28, 2026
