Pakistan is extremely involved in the United Nations’ Peacekeeping Missions. In less than 18 months, Pakistan has gone from zero female military participation in peacekeeping operations to a monumental 15%, crossing the target that was set by the UN.
Yes, that was fast
The latest of these female peacekeepers is Major Fozia Perveen , who has taken the internet by storm as her pictures serving on a mission to Cyprus are being circulated everywhere. The United Nations claims that the deployment of women has produced promising results in all fields: the police, military, and civilian. This not only helps protect women’s rights, but also promotes the role of women as peacekeepers. Maleeha Lodhi , the Pakistani representative to the United Nations, shared Major Fozia Perveens’ picture on her twitter:
We are proud of our female (and male) peacekeepers who serve in UN Missions.Major Fozia Perveen is serving in theUN mission in Cyprus (UNFICYP) , seen here on a patrol in the Buffer Zone.Picture thanks to the UN pic.twitter.com/t7LRUvlcQn
— Maleeha Lodhi (@LodhiMaleeha) June 27, 2019
Lodhi went on to say that ”Pakistan is proud to have achieved the goal of deployment of 15 percent female staff officers in its missions.” In April 2019, Ambassador Lodhi said, “We believe, increased participation of female peacekeepers, and encouraging more women to take up mediation roles helps in the stabilization and reconstruction phases of conflicts”. She further stated that Pakistan will continue on this route and attempt to decrease the gender gap as much as it can, while providing support where efforts for strengthening peacekeeping are concerned. You know what they say: No Women, No Pride