New York, May 23: Major Abhilasha Barak has been named the 2025 UN Military Gender Advocate of the Year, the Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations announced. Serving with the Indian Battalion as commander of the Female Engagement Team (FET) in UNIFIL, Major Barak was recognized for outreach and community engagement with women and adolescent girls and for conducting gender-sensitization training for peacekeepers.
In a post on X, the Permanent Mission noted that Major Barak is the Indian Army’s first woman combat helicopter pilot and the third recipient of the award from India, after Major Suman Gawani (2019) and Major Radhika Sen (2024). The Embassy of India in Beirut also extended congratulations, praising her service as FET commander of INDBATT‑XXVI.
The UN Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award, presented annually since 2016, honours a military peacekeeper who demonstrates exceptional leadership in advancing the goals of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 — including mainstreaming gender perspectives in peace operations, ensuring women’s participation in peace and political processes, and preventing conflict-related sexual violence.
