New York: Europe and the Arabs
Major Ahlam Douzi - a Tunisian peacekeeping officer currently working with the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) - won the United Nations Pioneer Award, which is given to female officers working in the field of justice and correctional institutions. Major Ahlam Al-Dawzi specializes in ammunition and weapons, and is the first expert in this field to work with the MONUSCO mission. According to what was stated in the United Nations news bulletin, a copy of which we received this morning.
United Nations News spoke with Major Al-Douzi before receiving the award, during a ceremony held in New York yesterday, Tuesday, where she expressed her sincere pride and gratitude for receiving this award, and said: “Being a pioneer means being a role model, challenging norms, and opening doors for others.” .
Major Al-Douzi led a series of unprecedented technical investigations into serious crimes that lay the foundation for holding perpetrators accountable. Through its support of the Joint Ammunition Screening Group - a partnership between the Congolese authorities and MONUSCO - it provided forensic and weapons and ammunition analyzes of crimes involving attacks against civilians and peacekeepers.
Al-Douzi said that working in a field that is largely male-dominated is definitely a challenge. But it also represents an opportunity to break down gender barriers and pave the way for other women who aspire to pursue careers in similar fields
The Tunisian woman spoke about herself during the dialogue and said, “I am Major Ahlam Al-Douzi. I belong to the Tunisian army and hold the rank of major. I joined the UN mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, three years ago, and it is my second time in a peacekeeping mission. My first mission was in Mali for a year.” Between 2018 and 2019, then I returned to Tunisia, before I had the opportunity again to join the MONUSCO mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as an ammunition and weapons expert, and I have spent three years now.
I worked in the capital, Kinshasa, for six months, and then moved to Goma, an area witnessing constant conflict and where crimes abound, especially against members of the peacekeeping mission. I joined there as the first weapons and ammunition expert to promote justice. Thank God, and fortunately, I did work that contributed to my being selected to win this award. I forgot to mention that in the first assignment I worked as a gender equality consultant. Fortunately, my second mission was in a completely different field, and this helped me test another, more specialized field, especially since I am an engineer in weapons and ammunition. Thank God, the mission was a success, which is what made me here as your guest on this day to receive this award.