Uniformed Women in UN Peacekeeping Operations: An Assessment of India’s Contribution

The defect in the implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 has occurred by viewing rationales for increasing uniformed women peacekeepers from the instrumentalist perspective. The slow rate of increase in uniformed women peacekeepers is not solely because of the low contribution by developing countries. Indian uniformed women peacekeepers have played an impactful role in some of the most challenging operational environments, thereby shattering the general perception of women peacekeepers not being deployed in high-risk areas, or where the need for a gender perspective is greatest. Another major contribution by India is the creation of international and national specialised training courses on gender issues which are being used to prepare prospective peacekeepers. The ways to increase the participation of uniformed women peacekeepers are by addressing the challenges they confront in the field, ensuring that gender mainstreaming is the whole-of-the-mission’s responsibility, and by making a conscious effort to promote gender equality.