LIBERIA/FILE: The U.N.'s first female contigent of peacekeepers arrives in Liberia

Record ID: 349188

  • Title: LIBERIA/FILE: The U.N.'s first female contigent of peacekeepers arrives in Liberia
  • Date: 2nd February 2007
  • Summary: SOUNDBITE (English) SEEMA DHUNDIA, INDIAN COMMANDER, SAYING: "The training was tough so my girls are mentally, emotionally and physically prepared for the task."
  • Embargoed: 17th February 2007 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: Defence / Military
  • Reuters ID: LVA4I6K1UUWDOOPAGZ3ESY7NYV38
  • Story Text: Long-terrorised by male warlords and drug-crazed boy soldiers, Liberia has Africa's first elected female president -- and now the world's first all-woman U.N. peacekeeping unit.
    Welcoming the new contingent at the Roberts International Airport in Monrovia on Tuesday (January 30), the UNMIL Police Commissioner, Mohammed Alhassan, said that the arrival of the all-female FPU from India is an extra boost to policing efforts in Liberia.
    "The female police officers, we all agree, respond more effectively to incidents of violence against women because they are better equipped to deal with victims of violence against women children with confidence and much understanding. Female police officers possess much better communication skills and are better able to facilitate cooperation between the police and the various communities that they serve," Alhassan said. He added that he hoped the Indian troops would encourage more Liberian women to join the security forces.
    Before Tuesday's arrival, there were just 82 women in the U.N. police mission in Liberia from Nepal, Nigeria and Jordan, Alhassan said. The female police unit, to be based in Monrovia, will be used to combat a rising crime wave, control riots and carry out training in the police academy.
    Indian force commander Seema Dhundia said the women had undergone tough training and so were "mentally, physically and emotionally prepared for the task."
    Some of the most feared fighters during Liberia's 1989-2003 were women.
    The conflict killed more than 200,000 people and rape was a frequent weapon of war used by all factions. Sexual abuse remains rife nearly four years after the conflict ended.
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