Indian woman peacekeeper Major Abhilasha Barak on Friday received the prestigious 2025 UN Military Gender Advocate Award from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who described her as a “trailblazing” role model.Barak was honoured at a ceremony here to commemorate International Day of UN Peacekeepers, which is marked annually on May 29.She is serving with the Indian Battalion as the Commander of the Female Engagement Team (FET) in the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). She is also the first woman combat helicopter pilot of the Indian Army.“Major Barak, you are a role model to those you serve and those you serve with. Congratulations, and thank you for your service,” Guterres said in remarks at the ceremony.Describing Barak as a “trailblazing” woman peacekeeper, Guterres noted that as Engagement Team Commander and Gender Focal Point within the Indian Battalion, she works to ensure that every aspect of the operation respects and serves the needs of women and other vulnerable groups.As a frontline commander, she has engaged thousands of women and girls through vocational training and programmes for education and health, Guterres said, adding that Barak has “built trust with local communities. Created space for dialogue.”She has also helped develop early-warning networks that strengthen the mission’s ability to protect civilians.“Her work shows the critical role that UNIFIL plays for local communities and how its presence is transforming the lives of women and girls, even under the most challenging circumstances,” Guterres said.The UN chief also underscored that Barak is deployed with UNIFIL, where a number of peacekeepers have recently been injured or killed.At the ceremony, a video showcased Barak’s work and efforts with local communities, including women and children, during her deployment with UNIFIL.Guterres, accompanied by the UN Peacekeeping Chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix, presented Barak with the honour.Barak is the third recipient of the UN Military Gender Advocate award from India, after Major Suman Gawani and Major Radhika Sen were honoured for their commendable work while serving in UN Peacekeeping missions in 2019 and 2023, respectively.India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Harish Parvathaneni said in a post on X that Barak’s “dedicated service” at UNIFIL is a “testament to India’s enduring commitment” to UN Peacekeeping and the Women, Peace and Security agenda.Created in 2016, the UN ‘Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award’ recognises the dedication and efforts of an individual military peacekeeper in promoting the principles of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security.Guterres also presented the UN Woman Police Officer of the Year award to Stephanie Konigs of Germany, who served in the UN Mission in South Sudan.He awarded the ‘Captain Mbaye Diagne Medal for Exceptional Courage’ to Corporal Matias Reyes of Uruguay for his actions in Goma, in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo during the height of the crisis in early 2025, and to the late Sergii Prykodko of Ukraine, who served as a private contractor in UNMISS and was killed during a mission to extract besieged soldiers in March last year.