At the UNSC, India said empowering women politically, economically and socially is key to building lasting peace and resilient societies….reports Asian Lite News Desk
India on Wednesday projected itself as a global leader in women’s empowerment and peacekeeping, telling the UN Security Council that its women-led development model and pioneering all-female peacekeeping mission in Liberia offer a blueprint for building more resilient and peaceful societies.
Addressing the UNSC Open Debate on Women, Peace and Security, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Harish Parvathaneni, said the country’s experience shows that sustainable peace and development are best achieved when women are empowered politically, economically and socially.
He noted that constitutional reservations in local self governing institutions have resulted in more than one million women entering local governance, where they occupy one-third of elected positions. He also pointed to the Women’s Reservation Act, 2023, which extends similar provisions to India’s Parliament.
Parvathaneni said India has a strong record of women holding high public office, including serving as Head of Government and Speaker of Parliament. He also highlighted that India currently has a woman serving as Head of State.
The ambassador said women’s participation in the Indian armed forces continues to grow and underscored the government’s focus on “women-led development”, a model aimed at making women central to India’s economic growth.
“Through digital and financial inclusion, through direct benefits transfer, through access to education, skill development and health services, India is investing in building independent and strong women that bring our society together,” he said.
Highlighting India’s contribution to UN peacekeeping, Parvathaneni said the deployment of women personnel remains one of the most effective aspects of the Women, Peace and Security agenda.
He said women peacekeepers help build trust within communities, support vulnerable populations and play a key role in addressing gender based violence while ensuring that peace processes reflect diverse perspectives.
The ambassador recalled that India became the first country to deploy an all-female police unit to the United Nations Mission in Liberia, a move that inspired thousands of Liberian women to join their country’s police force.
According to Parvathaneni, more than 160 Indian women peacekeepers are currently serving across various UN missions worldwide. He added that the Centre for United Nations Peacekeeping in New Delhi has been training female military officers from around the world since 2016.
He also highlighted India’s efforts to promote greater participation of women in peacekeeping through international cooperation. In February last year, India hosted the Conference for Women Peacekeepers from the Global South, bringing together representatives from 35 countries. In August, India organised the UN Women Military Officers Course, which saw participation from 15 countries.
Parvathaneni said India’s commitment has been recognised through several UN Gender Advocate awards received by Indian women peacekeepers in 2019, 2024 and most recently in 2026, when Major Abhilasha Barak was honoured for her work with local communities and women-focused initiatives.
Concluding his remarks, the ambassador stressed the importance of ensuring women have representation and agency across economic, political and social spheres.
“Communities in which women are economically self-reliant, politically represented, and socially respected recover faster from conflict and are more resistant to its recurrence. The road to lasting peace cannot be walked without women,” he said.India’s Women Power Pitch at UN
