A former United Nations peacekeeper from Niger has been presented with the inaugural UN Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award for her work in integrating gender perspectives into peacekeeping activities while serving in Mali.
The UN Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award recognizes the dedication and effort of an individual peacekeeper in promoting the principles contained within the UN Security Council’s resolution, aimed at drawing attention to women in armed conflict and their role in peacekeeping and security.
In a telephone interview with the UN News centre Major Aichatou Ousmane Issak expressed joy filled with a real sense of pleasure and satisfaction. She was most grateful to the UN and to the Government of Niger who deployed her to serve as military staff, and was very happy in the name of all women.
According to the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations, Major Issak – then serving at the rank of captain – stood out for her work with the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), particularly in the eastern region of Gao, where she served in a civilian-military cooperation unit.
While there, she developed quick impact projects that aided the local population, accompanied what would have been all-male patrols thus making them more approachable and accessible to local women and children, and spent considerable time and effort training fellow staff officers and reaching out to women in the local community.
Source: UN News Centre
