MoFA seeks more women in police, military jobs for peacekeeping missions

The foreign ministry on Sunday emphasised the importance of employing more women in the armed forces and the police for deploying them under UN peacekeeping missions.

We must redouble our efforts to ensure women’s full, equal and meaningful participation in the peace process as part of the national effort for women empowerment and reduce gender-based discrimination, foreign minister AK Abdul Momen said at an event organised virtually in observance of 20 Years of UN Security Council resolution 1325 on women, peace and security.

Currently, 322 Bangladeshi female staff, including 139 women military officers and 183 women police officers, are serving as the blue helmets as part of about 6,800 member Bangladesh contingents in UN peacekeeping missions.

With reference to a statement of the UN secretary general, the minister said that the representation of women in peacemaking and peacekeeping has remained very low — six per cent in mediation, six per cent as signatories and 13 per cent in negotiations.

As of 2020, 5.4 per cent of UN military personnel and 15.1 per cent of police personnel were women.

Bangladesh has sent over 1,900 women in various peacekeeping missions including in difficult ones.

The government has already taken measures to deploy more women officers to fulfil the target set by the UN of 15 per cent women as staff officers and military observers in UN peacekeeping missions, said Momen.

Manzoor Hasan, executive director of the Centre for Peace and Justice at Brac University, emphasised the need for providing experiential learning, digital security and learning to avoid drug addiction, suicide, sexual violence and domestic violence for both young male and female students.  

Foreign secretary Masud Bin Momen, British high commissioner to Bangladesh Robert Chatterton Dickson, UN resident coordinator Mia Seppo, Canadian high commissioner Benoit Prefontaine, Norwegian ambassador Espen Riketer Svendsen, South Korean ambassador Lee Jang-keun, women and children affairs secretary Kazi Rowshan Akhter, Armed Forces Division principal staff officer Lieutenant General Waker-Uz-Zaman, UN Women representative Soko Ishikaoa and foreign ministry director general for UN wing Samia Anjum also spoke at the event.

News Courtesy:

https://www.newagebd.net/article/129523/mofa-seeks-more-women-in-police-military-jobs-for-peacekeeping-missions