Sharon Mwinsote Syme: Ghanaian Peacekeeper Named UN Military Gender Advocate Of The Year

• Ghanaian soldier Sharon Mwinsote Syme has been honoured with the 2024 United Nations Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award
• Syme was honoured during a ceremony at the UN Headquarters in New York on May 29, 2025
• She serves as Deputy Chief Dietician at the 37 Military Hospital and is a member of the Ghana Armed Forces Medical Corps

A Ghanaian woman, Sharon Mwinsote Syme, has been honoured with the 2024 United Nations Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award for exemplary service in advancing gender equality.

Squadron Leader Syme is the latest Ghanaian peacekeeper to receive global recognition.

The announcement was made during a ceremony at the UN Headquarters in New York on May 29.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres praised Syme's contributions to the United Nations Interim Security Force when presenting her with the award.

“As the Military Gender Adviser in the Interim Security Force for Abyei [border between South Sudan and Sudan], her outreach has built strong community links, and brought gender perspective in the field. Her work helped us to better understand the concerns of women and girls, and to craft possible solutions, together.”

Since her deployment to the United Nations Interim Security Force in March 2024, Squadron Leader Syme has led a series of gender-focused interventions in Abyei, an area where Ghana has lost a peacekeeper in the past.

These include community health campaigns and intensive gender sensitisation training for military personnel.

The UN said her efforts have directly reached more than 1,500 troops across Abyei’s northern, central, and southern sectors.

The UN also noted that Syme’s impact extended far beyond the barracks, given her work with civilian and police gender officers.

She led a health awareness campaign targeting harmful practices such as early child marriage.

Syme is a graduate of the Ghana Military Academy and holds a master’s degree in international health from Tokyo University in Japan.

She serves as Deputy Chief Dietician at the 37 Military Hospital in Accra and is a member of the Ghana Armed Forces Medical Corps.

The Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award, which was first instituted in 2016, is presented annually to a military peacekeeper who has shown exceptional dedication to implementing the principles of the UN Security Council Resolution 1325.

The resolution urges the inclusion of women in peace and security efforts and calls for measures to prevent gender-based violence in conflict situations.

Major General Asmah named UNDOF Commander

YEN.com.gh reported that a Ghanaian woman also distinguished herself within the UN earlier in the year.

Major General Anita Asmah took command from Major General Patrick Gauchat as the new United Nations Disengagement Observer (UNDOF) Force Commander & Head of Mission in February.

With this appointment, Asmah became the UN's first African woman Force Commander.

Before her latest appointment, Asamah served as Director General in the Department of Defence Civilian Establishment of the Ghanaian Armed Forces.

She also served as Deputy Force Commander of UNDOF between 2021 and 2023, and a Staff Officer in the UN Interim Force in Lebanon from 2012 to 2016.

Proofreading by Samuel Gitonga, copy editor at YEN.com.gh.

Source: YEN.com.gh