Key Terms & Concepts — UPSC Mains
Female Engagement Team
"Specialised teams of women military personnel in UN peacekeeping missions that engage local women and children to gather intelligence, build trust and advance protection mandates."
Female Engagement Teams (FETs) are mission-specific units of women soldiers and police officers deployed within United Nations peacekeeping operations to interface with populations — particularly women and children — that male peacekeepers cannot reach for cultural or security reasons. FETs operationalise UN Security Council Resolution 1325 of October 31, 2000, the foundational Women, Peace and Security (WPS) resolution, and its follow-on resolutions 1820, 1888, 1889, 1960, 2106 and 2122. India has deployed FETs in major UN missions including UNIFIL (Lebanon), MONUSCO (Democratic Republic of Congo) and UNDOF (Golan Heights). India was the first troop-contributing country to deploy an all-female Formed Police Unit (FPU), which served in UNMIL Liberia from 2007 to 2016. The UN has set a target of 15% women in military peacekeeping contingents by 2028, against a current global share of under 6%. The UN Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award has gone three times to Indian women officers: Major Suman Gawani (2019), Major Radhika Sen (2023) and Major Abhilasha Barak (2025).
GS1 (society, role of women), GS2 (UN, India's contribution to peacekeeping) and GS3 (security forces). Common Prelims hook (UNSCR 1325, first all-female FPU) and Mains/essay material on gender mainstreaming in conflict zones.
- 1 Operationalise UNSC Resolution 1325 (Oct 31, 2000) on Women, Peace and Security.
- 2 Indian FETs serve in UNIFIL (Lebanon), MONUSCO (DRC) and UNDOF (Golan Heights).
- 3 India deployed the UN's first all-female Formed Police Unit in Liberia (2007-2016).
- 4 UN target: 15% women in military peacekeeping by 2028; currently under 6%.
- 5 Three Indian officers have won UN Military Gender Advocate Award: Gawani (2019), Sen (2023), Barak (2025).
- 6 Linked to India's broader Nari Shakti agenda in armed forces and police.
On May 22, 2026, Major Abhilasha Barak, the Female Engagement Team Commander of the Indian Battalion in UNIFIL, was announced as the 2025 UN Military Gender Advocate of the Year.
