NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday congratulated Major Abhilasha Barak on being awarded the UN Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award, describing the honour as recognition of both her outstanding service and India's longstanding contribution to United Nations peacekeeping operations.
Major Barak, currently serving with the United Nations mission in Lebanon, received the award for her extensive outreach efforts with women and girls during her deployment in the West Asian nation. She is also the first woman combat helicopter pilot in the Indian Army.
"Congratulations to Major Abhilasha Barak on being conferred the UN Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award," Modi said in a post on X.
The Prime Minister noted that Major Barak is serving as an Engagement Team Commander and Gender Focal Point within the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).
"This honour is a recognition of her exemplary service and also of India's longstanding contribution to United Nations peacekeeping efforts. Her achievement is also an inspiration to countless young Indians, especially our daughters, who aspire to serve the nation and humanity," he said.
India remains one of the largest contributors of troops and police personnel to UN peacekeeping missions worldwide. As of February 2026, UNIFIL comprised 7,538 peacekeepers from 48 troop contributing countries, including 642 personnel from India, making it the fourth largest contributor after Italy (784), Indonesia (756) and Spain (660).
The United Nations recently announced the recipients of its 2025 Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award and Woman Police Officer of the Year Award, with Major Abhilasha Barak selected for the Military Gender Advocate honour.
According to an official UN statement, Major Barak has been serving as Engagement Team Commander and Gender Focal Point with UNIFIL since June 2025.
"As the first woman combat helicopter pilot of the Indian Army, she broke new ground in military aviation after being commissioned into the Army Air Defence Corps in 2018, following her graduation from Delhi Technological University and training at the Officers Training Academy, Chennai. Prior to her deployment, she served in frontline aviation roles, gaining extensive experience in complex and high risk operational environments," the statement said.
"These awards honour peacekeepers who invest in peace every day, protecting communities, building trust and ensuring that women's voices and leadership are at the heart of lasting solutions," said Jean Pierre Lacroix, Under Secretary General for Peace Operations.
"Major Barak exemplifies how advancing gender equality makes United Nations peacekeeping stronger and more effective on the ground," he added.
Major Barak was named the 2025 Military Gender Advocate of the Year in recognition of her exceptional leadership in promoting gender responsive peacekeeping and advancing the Women, Peace and Security agenda during her deployment with UNIFIL.
An official statement said: "Serving as Engagement Team Commander and Gender Focal Point within the Indian Battalion in Sector East, southern Lebanon, Major Barak integrates gender perspectives into military operations, patrols and civil military activities, ensuring that operational decisions reflect the realities and needs of women and vulnerable groups."
The statement further noted: "As a frontline commander, she has led extensive outreach efforts, engaging more than 5,000 women and girls through vocational training, education and health programmes that support empowerment and post conflict recovery. Within six months, she conducted 539 gender focused field activities, the highest within the mission, while leading all women patrols amid repeated hostilities."
Major Barak has also introduced innovative protection mechanisms, including an AI driven platform, The Lebanon Gender Initiative, aimed at strengthening gender protection measures within the mission.
The UN statement added: "The platform enables women and children to confidentially report gender based violence, while offering grievance tracking, access to helpline services, self defence resources and educational materials, thereby improving survivors' access to essential support services."
In addition, her efforts enabled 75 Lebanese women aged between 25 and 45 from communities across southern Lebanon to secure fully funded international scholarships under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme. The scholarships provided professional training in fields such as renewable energy, agri entrepreneurship and finance, creating sustainable opportunities for women's economic empowerment.
The statement further observed: "Through sustained field engagement and excellent gender responsive peacekeeping efforts, she has built trust with local communities, created safe spaces for dialogue and contributed to the development of early warning networks, strengthening both community protection and mission effectiveness."
The UN also shared Major Barak's remarks: "This mission is about giving women the freedom, opportunity and support to reclaim their voices and stand strong. For me, it carries the same honour, courage and sense of purpose as any battlefield. It is not just a duty, it is a calling. Dreams don't have a gender."
