Dhaka: A film on the UN peace mission of a peacekeeping unit of women police of Bangladesh deployed in Haiti, a Caribbean country, titled ‘A journey of a thousand miles: Peacekeepers’ was screened on Thursday at the UN.  

The film, directed by the Academy Award-winning filmmakers Geeta Gandbir and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, was screened to display the courage of female peacekeepers of Bangladesh in facing multi-faceted challenges.

The film displayed the mission of a police unit of 160 women who between June 2013 and July 2014 traveled far from their families and friends and all that was familiar at home in Bangladesh to join the UN stabilization Mission in Haiti.  

They formed one of the world's first all-female peacekeeping units. The women - young and old, married and single, mothers and daughters - come from different corner of Bangladesh.  

The 90-minute film highlighted the on-ground reality, struggles, and personal experiences of this formed police unit. It emphasized on a number of brave women of the unit as they boldly faced various challenges of life during the UN peacekeeping mission and upheld their mission to establish peace and stability in Haiti.

The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Bangladesh Permanent Representative at the UN Masud Bin Momen, diplomats of the UN member countries, UN officials participated in the film screening function.

The UN Secretary General, in his speech, lauded the role of the peacekeepers of Bangladesh, particularly the female peacekeepers, who in spite of lot of difficulties had displayed resilience and determination to take up the challenging assignment.  

The UNSG said they have performed splendidly and shown as an example to others. Bangladesh has shown the ways ahead to make gender balance in the peacekeeping, which has the high priority at the moment, he added.

Masud Bin Momen said, ‘The film is a testimony to women's empowerment and social mobility in Bangladesh that our Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is leading from the front.’  

The ambassador said 160 women of the peacekeeping unit had shattered stereotyped in their own social milieus by opting for a profession usually considered to be a male domain. After one year of service in Haiti, they returned home with skills and experience which they could effectively share with their successors.  

Since they are acting as role models for many younger girls and women, he said, a total of 862 female police officers from Bangladesh have, so far, served in Haiti and Congo.