On the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers commemorated on May 29 each year, the United Nations Integrated Multidimensional Mission for the Stabilization of Mali (MINUSMA) has issued on its official website a picture of Tunisian Army officer Chahra Ayachi.
The international day of 2020 highlights the role of women under the theme “Women in Peacekeeping: a Key to Peace”.
“As a communications officer, it is my duty to assure that I choose and recommend the subject matter on which the MINUSMA should communicate on social media. This is the obligation of Captain Chahra Ayachi, a 34-year-old Tunisian woman and one of the 12,000 UN peacekeepers in Mali.
Being a Blue Helmet is an exciting job for her. “It brings me a lot on a private level. I am satisfied and pleased to help a noble cause: that of peace,” she says.
She revealed that she loves “working in an international environment and in a country like Mali. The officer further associated to this effect “like to discover the Malian people and culture”.
Her point of view on the assistance of women in peacekeeping is straightforward: “Every woman is a warrior in her own field; she incorporates various values that offer in a unique and meaningful way to the building of peace in the world”.
As a woman, “our appearance should not be limited to numbers, she adds. Women must be included, they must be equal to their duties; these are the things that will make it feasible to deliver real equality and to see the effects on the ground”.
The International Day of UN Peacekeepers honours civilian, police and military personnel for their invaluable contribution to the work of the UN. It also presents an occasion to honour the memory of more than 3900 peacekeepers who have lost their lives while serving under the United Nations banner since 1948, including 102 men and women in 2019.
The day will be observed at UN Headquarters in New York. The Secretary-General will lay a wreath in honour of all peacekeepers who have lost their lives under the UN flag over the past seven decades.
Besides, the Dag Hammarskjöld Medal will be bestowed posthumously to fallen peacekeepers in 2019. The Gender Advocate Award will be presented during a videoconference.
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