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A peacekeeper's commitment to improving the lives of women in the Central African Republic

A peacekeeper's commitment to improving the lives of women in the Central African Republic

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When Lieutenant Commander Marcia Andrade Braga arrived in Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic, to take up her post as Military Gender Advisor with the UN peacekeeping mission there, MINUSCA, no one else in the mission was tasked with protecting the needs of conflict-affected women.

But just one year on, she has managed to build a network of gender focal points across the country.

In field mission after field mission, the Brazilian peacekeeper meets with women and looks for solutions to alleviate their suffering. “When you are there and look at these women in the eyes, it’s like a commitment, and you need to take action,” she told Yasmina Guerda in an interview for UN News.

Her dedication has earned her the UN Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award, which she will officially receive on Friday, at UN headquarters in New York, as part of the 2019 Peacekeeping Ministerial Conference.

She told us why her job and this award mean so much to her.

Audio Credit
Yasmina Guerda, UN News
Audio
9'7"
Photo Credit
MINUSCA