Kathmandu, November 7
Sangya Malla of Nepal, currently serving in the United Nations Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), will receive the 2021 United Nations Woman Police Officer of the Year.
Superintendent Malla will be presented the award by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres at a virtual ceremony on November 9, the United Nations Department of Peace Operations announced recently.
Superintendent Malla currently serves as the chief of the MONUSCO Police Health and Environment Unit, which she helped establish in the country’s capital, Kinshasa, the UN department says.
“She helped establish and now leads MONUSCO’s Health and Environment Unit, enhancing the safety and welfare of our peacekeepers by mitigating the risks from Covid-19 and other threats,” the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has been quoted in a statement. “And, she represents something far larger — the many contributions of women police officers in advancing peace and security around the world. Through her work, Superintendent Malla embodies the best of the United Nations.”
“I am honoured to receive this award, and I hope it will encourage more young women in my country and around the world to pursue careers in policing, which is still too often viewed as “man’s work’,” Superintendent Malla, a medical professional in the training, has been quoted.
The United Nations Woman Police Officer of the Year award was established in 2011 to recognise the exceptional contributions of women police officers to UN peace operations and to promote the empowerment of women.
Malla had joined the Nepal Police in 2008 as an inspector.
The award will be presented during the 16th United Nations Police Week from 8 to 12 November. The award ceremony will be held virtually on November 9, at 12:30 EST and broadcast live on UN webcast: http://webtv.un.org/.
