As US ties fray under Trump, second-gen reforms are India's best defence

Among the top 10 countries contributing troops, police, and experts to United Nations (UN) Peacekeeping missions, India — the fourth-largest contributor — has the lowest proportion of female personnel in its contingent.

As of September 30, 2025, women accounted for just 3.4 per cent of India’s contingent, far below its neighbours Nepal (9.83 per cent), Bangladesh (7.7 per cent), and Pakistan (5.6 per cent) — the first, third, and sixth-largest contributors, respectively. Only China, which ranks eighth among troop-contributing nations, has a similarly low proportion of female personnel in its contingent, at 3.57 per cent.

In 2000, the UN Security Council (UNSC) adopted Resolution 1325, formally acknowledging the vital role of women in peace talks, preventing conflict, and supporting rebuilding after violence. It was later followed by a series of “Women, Peace and Security” resolutions. 

At present, women make up only about 10.05 per cent of the UN’s 60,566 uniformed peacekeepers, including military personnel, police officers, and observers. Their participation has remained disproportionately low, despite broad consensus that women play a crucial role in conflict resolution, particularly because they can often gain better access to local populations, especially women and children. Their presence can also help prevent sexual violence. Recognising this shortfall, the UN, under its Uniformed Gender Parity Strategy, has set targets of 15 per cent women in military contingents and 25 per cent in police units by 2028. Given India’s current standing, contributing meaningfully towards these targets will require sustained and concerted effort.

The UN was founded in 1945 with the primary goal of maintaining international peace and security. UN Peacekeeping began in 1948, when the UNSC authorised the deployment of military observers to West Asia to monitor the armistice agreement between Israel and its Arab neighbours — a mission that became the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization. Since then, the UN has deployed more than 70 peacekeeping operations to help countries navigate the difficult transition from conflict to peace. At present, 60,566 UN peacekeepers, known as Blue Helmets, from 118 nations are deployed across 11 missions.

Since the 1950s, India has contributed more than 290,000 peacekeepers to over 50 missions worldwide, making it the largest contributor to UN peacekeeping efforts. Today, 5,206 Indian personnel, including 177 women, serve in 10 active missions, many of them in dangerous and hostile conditions. Nearly 180 Indian peacekeepers have laid down their lives in the service of global peace.