São Paulo – Born in Brazil, Marcia Andrade Braga will receive the UN Military Gender Advocate Award this Friday (29) in New York. She is a corvette captain and is part of the Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA), where she serves as gender advisor.
According to information released this Wednesday (27) by the United Nations, Braga has helped to build a network of trained gender advisors among the mission’s military units and promoted mixed teams of men and women to conduct patrols around the country.
According to UN, these teams gather critical information to help MINUSCA understand the protection needs of men, women, boys and girls. They’ve also helped developing community projects to support vulnerable communities, including the installation of water pumps, solar-powered lighting, and the development of community gardens to tend their crops.
“My work is essentially understanding how this conflict affects different groups, women, men, boys and girls. Conflicts affect each of these groups in different ways,” said Braga according to a release by the United Nations Information Center in Brazil (UNIC Rio). “Because it is also connected to the gender issue, I’m also very concerned in increasing female participation inside the army,” she added.
The officer will receive the award from UN Secretary-General António Guterrez.
Translated by Guilherme Miranda