ISLAMABAD – Members of the first-ever Pakistani Female Engagement Team(FET), which is deployed with the United Nations Organisation StabilisationMission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO), were recentlyawarded the UN Medal at a ceremony in Adikivu in South Kivu, one of theprovinces of the central African country.
This team of 15 female Majors and Captains was the first ever PakistaniFemale Engagement team in any UN peacekeeping mission around the world.
The officers are psychologists, stress counsellors, vocational trainingofficers, gender advisers, doctors, nurses, operations officers,information officers and logistics officers, according to a messagereceived at UN Headquarters in New York.
Another 17 female officers will join the team in early February, accordingto a report by the *Associated Press of Pakistanlink*.
UN Peacekeepers rely heavily on engaging with the local community — whichfeels more comfortable liaising and sharing information with militarytroops that include women alongside men, the mission said.
“Throughout their deployment the Pakistani female officers worked hard towin the trust of the community,” it added.
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The Pakistani FET, according to the mission, has implemented manysuccessful projects including vocational training, medical outreach,regular sessions of support for students, local women and teachers exposedto trauma; and psychological workshops for Congolese police personnel.
“This team’s extraordinary endeavours to serve the UN is worthy of praise”,read the press release.
Governor South Kivu Province Theo Ngwabidje represented the Congoleseauthorities at the ceremony.
