On 7 June 2026 Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Major Abhilasha Barak of the Indian Army for being conferred the prestigious United Nations Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award for the year 2025, making her only the third Indian peacekeeper and the third Indian Army officer to receive this honour. The award was presented to her at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on 5 June 2026 by Under Secretary General for Peace Operations Jean Pierre Lacroix in the presence of senior UN officials and the Permanent Representative of India to the UN. Major Barak is currently deployed with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) where she serves as the Engagement Team Commander and the Gender Focal Point of the Indian Battalion. Since assuming charge in June 2025, she executed a record 539 gender focused field activities across South Lebanon empowering over 5000 local women and adolescent girls through health camps, vocational training, education sessions and psychosocial support. She spearheaded the Lebanon Gender Initiative, an artificial intelligence driven platform that enabled confidential reporting of gender based violence and access to helplines. Major Barak, hailing from Rohtak in Haryana and daughter of a retired Colonel, graduated from Delhi Technological University in 2016 and was commissioned into the Army Air Defence Corps. In May 2022 she scripted history by becoming the first woman combat aviator of the Indian Army after completing the rigorous Combat Army Aviation Training at Nashik. The award reinforces Indias commitment to United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women Peace and Security and highlights the contribution of Indian women peacekeepers in UN missions.