Female soldiers’ participation in peacekeeping mission now 27.9% – Defence chief

The Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, Friday disclosed that the Armed Forces of Nigeria had attained 27.9 per cent female participation in peace support operations as against the 17 per cent benchmark recommended by the United Nations.

Musa said the Nigerian military had received encomium from notable international organisations, such as the United Nations (UN) and the Africa Union (AU) for adopting commendable gender mainstreaming policies in all its military operations conducted within and outside the shores of Nigeria.

He disclosed this when he spoke at a one-day gender mainstreaming conference titled, “Building Capacity Through Gender Mainstreaming to Meet Security Challenges” organised by the Defence headquarters.

On her part, the wife of the president, Oluremi Tinubu, said gender mainstreaming was shaping a safer, better and more equitable world for all.

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She said that in a rapidly changing global landscape, security challenges had become increasingly complex and multifaceted from terrorism to cyber threats and climate change.

Similarly, the UN deputy secretary-general, Amina Mohammed, commended the Federal Government of Nigeria for its continued efforts to promote gender mainstreaming in the country’s armed forces.