Major Abhilasha Barak’s UN honour must become a turning point, not just a trophy
On the International Day of UN Peacekeepers, the United Nations’ decision to honour Major Abhilasha Barak with the 2025 Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award does more than place another medal on an already decorated uniform. It shines a revealing light on the changing nature of peacekeeping, the centrality of women in conflict transformation, and the slow but steady shift within India’s own military institutions. Major Barak, serving with the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and commanding the Female Engagement Team of the Indian battalion, is not merely the first woman combat helicopter pilot of the Indian Army. She is, more importantly, the embodiment of a quiet revolution: a soldier who understands that security is not just about guns and grids, but about trust, dignity and voice. By engaging more than 5,000 women and girls through vocational training, education and health programmes, she has taken peacekeeping beyond patrols and into the difficult terrain of everyday life. This is precisely what UN Security Council Resolution 1325 envisaged when it called for a gender perspective in all aspects of peacekeeping and peacebuilding. For too long, women in conflict zones have been seen only as victims, rarely as stakeholders. Major Barak’s work in outreach, community engagement and gender sensitisation of peacekeepers is a reminder that sustainable peace cannot be built while half the population remains unheard. It is also significant that she is the third Indian recipient of this prestigious award, following Major Suman Gawani in 2019 and Major Radhika Sen in 2024. The pattern is telling. India’s uniformed women are not tokens; they are increasingly at the frontline of the UN’s most demanding missions, where the credibility of peacekeepers often hinges on the ability to listen, empathise and respond to the unique vulnerabilities of women and children. Yet, celebration must not blind us to the unfinished agenda. For every Major Barak, there are countless capable women still battling structural biases in recruitment, deployment and leadership within the security sector. If India wishes to match its rhetoric on women-led development with reality, it must invest in training, mentoring and promoting more women in commanding roles, at home and abroad. Major Abhilasha Barak’s honour is a moment of pride for our country. But it is also a challenge: to reimagine security through the eyes of those who have long stood at its margins, and to ensure that women are not just symbols of peace, but shapers of it.