Indian woman combat helicopter pilot Abhilasha receives UN peacekeeping award-Secretary General terms her a “True Role Model”

By R Anil Kumar

New York/ Bengaluru, June 5, 2026. India’s first woman combat helicopter pilot, Major Abhilasha Barak, received on Friday the UN 2005 Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award, recognising her efforts to promote the role and perspectives of women in peacekeeping.

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who presented the award, said she was “a role model to those you serve, and those you serve with”.

“Dreams do not have a gender, and neither does leadership, courage, or the will to serve humanity,” said Barak, who is deployed in Lebanon, currently the most dangerous UN peacekeeping site.

She added that the award is a reminder that lasting peace can only be built when every voice is heard and every individual is empowered.

Guterres also presented the Dag Hammarskjold award for two Indian peacekeepers who died while serving the UN.

India’s Permanent Representative P. Harish received the awards for Lance Havildar Harbhajan Singh, who was a peacekeeper in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Naib Subedar Sujit Kumar Pradhan in South Sudan.

Assistant Secretary-General Lisa Buttenheim said Barak’s “leadership and innovation have advanced the women, peace, and security agenda across military operations”.

About Barak’s work, Guterres said that by building trust with local communities, she helped develop early-warning networks that strengthen the mission’s ability to protect civilians.

“As a frontline commander, she has engaged thousands of women and girls through vocational training and programmes for education and health,” he said, adding that she is transforming lives even under the most challenging circumstances.

Barak is the third woman officer from India to be awarded the Military Gender Advocate Award after Major Suman Gawani and Major Radhika Sen.

She is the Engagement Team Commander and Gender Focal Point in the Indian Battalion deployed with the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

UNIFIL, which is deployed along the border between Israel and Lebanon, is now the riskiest peacekeeping operation as fighting rages between Israel and Hezbollah. On Wednesday night, a peacekeeper with the mission became the seventh to be killed since March.

Reflecting on her military career, Barak said, “Being the first woman combat helicopter pilot in the Indian Army, I experienced firsthand how opportunity enables women to break barriers and reach milestones.”

Barak is among the nearly 650 Indian peacekeepers serving with UNIFIL, 13 of whom are women, according to the UN. A total of 4,278 Indian peacekeepers are deployed in UN missions.

Pakistani Police Chief Praises Indian Army Major Abhilasha Barak for Historic UN Honour

Major Abhilasha Barak’s recognition by the United Nations, and the praise from UN Police Adviser Faisal Shahkar, stands as a powerful example of professionalism beyond borders.

In a notable moment of recognition at the United Nations, Pakistani police officer and UN Police Adviser Faisal Shahkar personally congratulated Indian Army Major Abhilasha Barak after she received the 2025 United Nations Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award.

Major Barak, who is serving with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, has been honoured for her outstanding contribution to gender-responsive peacekeeping, community outreach, and the empowerment of women and girls in mission areas. Her recognition has once again placed India’s contribution to UN peacekeeping in the global spotlight. Faisal Shahkar, a senior Pakistani police officer, currently serves as the United Nations Police Adviser and Director of the Police Division in the UN Department of Peace Operations.

He was appointed to the position by UN Secretary-General António Guterres in December 2022. In this role, he advises UN leadership on policing matters, supports police components in peace operations, and contributes to global initiatives involving law enforcement, security, and peacekeeping.

Major Abhilasha Barak’s achievement is historic for several reasons. She is widely known as India’s first woman combat helicopter pilot in the Indian Army. Her journey from Army Aviation to a UN peacekeeping mission reflects the expanding role of women officers in combat, operational, and international peace support roles.

During her deployment with UNIFIL in Lebanon, Major Barak led several initiatives focused on women, adolescent girls, and local communities. According to UN India, she led outreach efforts that reached more than 5,000 women and girls. Her work included strengthening communication with local communities, supporting gender-sensitive engagement, and ensuring that women’s voices were included in peacekeeping outreach.

Ms. Barak also contributed to gender sensitisation training for peacekeepers, helping troops better understand the security concerns, social realities, and needs of women and girls in conflict-affected areas.

This work is central to the United Nations’ Women, Peace and Security agenda, which stresses the participation, protection, and leadership of women in peace and security efforts.

The UN Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award is given to military peacekeepers who demonstrate exceptional commitment to integrating gender perspectives into peacekeeping operations.

Major Barak’s selection for the 2025 award recognises her ability to combine military professionalism with humanitarian sensitivity and community engagement. Her recognition also marks another proud milestone for India.

Major Barak has become the third Indian peacekeeper to receive this prestigious honour. Earlier, Major Suman Gawani received the award in 2019 for her service with the UN Mission in South Sudan, while Major Radhika Sen received the 2023 award for her work with the UN mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The fact that Faisal Shahkar, a Pakistani police chief serving in a senior UN role, personally congratulated an Indian Army officer adds a special diplomatic and symbolic dimension to the moment.

While India and Pakistan have a complex relationship, the United Nations peacekeeping platform often brings uniformed personnel from different countries together under a shared mission of peace, protection, and service to humanity.

Major Barak’s work in Lebanon highlights the changing nature of modern peacekeeping. Today, peacekeepers are not only expected to maintain security but also to build trust with local communities, understand gender-based challenges, support vulnerable groups, and create conditions for long-term stability.

Her success also underlines the importance of women in uniform. Women peacekeepers often play a crucial role in reaching sections of society that may otherwise remain inaccessible, especially women and girls in conservative or conflict-affected communities.

Through her leadership, Major Abhilasha Barak has helped strengthen confidence between peacekeepers and the local population. Speaking after receiving the honour, Major Barak said that dreams, leadership, courage, and the will to serve humanity do not have a gender.

Her words captured the larger message of her journey: that women officers are not only breaking barriers but also reshaping the meaning of leadership in uniform.

For India, the award is another recognition of its long-standing contribution to United Nations peacekeeping. Indian soldiers, police personnel, medical teams, and observers have served in several UN missions across the world.

Major Barak’s achievement adds a new chapter to this legacy by showing how Indian women officers are making a global impact in some of the most challenging operational environments.

Major Abhilasha Barak’s recognition by the United Nations, and the praise from UN Police Adviser Faisal Shahkar, stands as a powerful example of professionalism beyond borders. It is a story of an Indian Army officer serving humanity in Lebanon, a Pakistani police chief acknowledging her contribution at the UN, and a global peacekeeping system increasingly recognising the leadership of women in uniform.