India's first women's peacekeeping force for Liberia

January 22 2006 - (NewIndpress) For the first time, a company of 120 Indian women would be deputed to Liberia, west Africa, for a peace-keeping mission following a UN request to the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).

"We had met some of the commanders of the UN who requested us to send a company of the women's force," said J.K. Sinha, director general of CRPF, adding that this would be for the first time India would send a women's company on a peacekeeping mission.

The issue came up during a meeting with UN officials and members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) in 2005, he said, adding that the CRPF is the lone force in the world that has a special battalion of women personnel."The forces deployed in Liberia were facing difficulty while dealing with women and therefore we were requested to send a company," said Sinha. He said the women's contingent would be sent to Liberia in two months."A team would shortly leave for Liberia after the Republic Day function and submit a report on the infrastructure facilities for the personnel," Sinha said.

The CRPF personnel on peacekeeping mission would be posted in Liberia for a year and the status of their returning back to India would be decided only after completion of the tenure.Sinha said the response has been good with more women personnel applying for the assignment than was anticipated.The women's force would be selected from different companies of CRPF so that the best candidates could be sent.

From: http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IEP20060121120106&Topic=0&Title=Nation&Page=P