Pakistan Army’s Major Sania Safdar has become first UN peacekeeper in Cyprus to receive the 2023 ‘Certificate of Recognition’ for advocating gender equality.
According to the mission, she is serving with the United Nations Force in Cyprus as a Mission’s Force Signal Officer.
The award, issued by the New York-based U.N. Department for Peace Operations, was presented to her by the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in Cyprus, Colin Stewart.
In a statement, Major Sania Safdar said receiving this certificate as the first peacekeeper from UNFICYP is deeply meaningful to her and significant for Pakistan Army Mission in Cyprus.
Major Safdar is currently serving as the Mission’s Force Signal Officer and one of the UNFICYP’s military gender focal points. Her primary tasks involve overseeing communication systems and promoting gender equality within military component. Since her deployment to the Mission last year, she proactively took charge of several initiatives to contribute to achieve this recognition by focusing on integrating the Women, Peace, and Security Agenda into military components of the Mission’s work.