Major Suman Gawani of the Indian Army, who served as a peacekeeper with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) in 2019, has won the prestigious United Nations Military Gender Advocate of the year Award, the Army said. Major Gawani received the award from the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres during an online ceremony at the UN Headquarters, New York, on Friday on the occasion of International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers. Carla Monteiro de Castro Araujo, a Brazilian Naval officer, also received the award. As a military observer in UNMISS from November 2018 to December 2019, Major Gawani was the principal focal point of contact for gender issues for military observers in the mission. Later, she also trained the South Sudan government forces on CRSV related aspects.

Source: The Hindu May 29, 2020 19:21 UTC