New York City: Squadron Leader Sharon Mwinsote Syme of the Ghana Armed Forces has been awarded the United Nations (UN) 2024 Military Gender Advocate of the Year. The award recognised her exceptional commitment to gender equality and female empowerment during her tour of duty with the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) in South Sudan.
According to Ghana News Agency, since her deployment last year as Military Gender Adviser, Squadron Leader Syme has been credited with significantly influencing local communities, particularly women and girls, by ensuring that their voices and needs are effectively incorporated into security and peacebuilding initiatives. Mr Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, praised her work in South Sudan, stating that she exemplifies gender advocacy in peacekeeping.
He said her dedication not only improved the effectiveness of UNISFA's operations but also ensured that the mission was more reflective of and responsive to the communities it serves. She received the award at a special ceremony marking the International Day of UN Peacekeepers on 29 May 2025, presented by UN Secretary-General Ant³nio Guterres at the UN Headquarters in New York City.
Squadron Leader Syme has led gender-focused interventions, including community health campaigns and intensive gender sensitisation training for military personnel since 2024. Her efforts have reached over 1,500 troops across Abyei's northern, central, and southern sectors. She personally conducted in-person sessions and engaged commanding officers to deepen their understanding of the UN's Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda.
'I realised that if gender mainstreaming was going to be effective, everyone needed to understand what it meant. So, I developed and delivered in-person training across all military contingents,' she explained. Her impact extends beyond military operations. She has worked with civilian and police gender officers, leading health awareness campaigns targeting harmful practices such as early child marriage and female genital mutilation (FGM).
A graduate of the Ghana Military Academy, Squadron Leader Syme holds a master's degree in international health from Tokyo University in Japan. She currently serves as Deputy Chief Dietician at the 37 Military Hospital, Accra, and is a member of the Ghana Armed Forces Medical Corps.
The Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award, established in 2016, is presented annually to military peacekeepers, male or female, who demonstrate exceptional dedication to the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325. The resolution promotes the inclusion of women in peace and security efforts and calls for measures to prevent gender-based violence in conflict situations.
