Major Swathi Shanthakumar talks to the local women in Malakal, South Sudan. Credit: UN Mission in South Sudan
A soldier’s peace - rising to meet your own courage
A conversation with Major Swathi Shanthakumar on peace as “a sequence of change.”
"No one is too small to make an impact,” says 31-year-old Major Swathi Shanthakumar.
Recently recognized by UN Secretary-General António Guterres for her work to address gender-based violence in Malakal, South Sudan, the soldier from Bengaluru, south India, has spent the last 18 months proving that leadership isn't just about command - it’s about connection.
Every person has to trust that spark or fire within themselves. Be real, be resilient, and be unapologetically you,” explains Major Swathi. “We can either sit and complain that something is going wrong, or we can actually be the change.”
As she wraps up her mission leading India’s first all-women Military Engagement Team in Malakal, Major Swathi’s perspective offers a window into the reality of modern peacekeeping - one that is constantly adapting to the realities on the ground.
South Sudan, the world’s youngest country, is home to one of its largest UN peacekeeping operations, UNMISS, with a strength of nearly 20,000 staff - military, police and civilian personnel - from about 75 countries. Countries like Rwanda, India, Nepal and Bangladesh provide the most number of troops to help South Sudan’s fragile transition from a deep-seated and complex legacy of war.
The persistent presence of peacekeepers like Major Swathi, who work to bring everyday peace to communities across South Sudan - protecting civilians, ensuring aid delivery and promoting human rights - remains a vital stabilizing force for lasting peace.
Indian peacekeepers share a moment of laugther with a South Sudanese in Malakal. Credit: UN Mission in South Sudan
Peace as a sequence of change
Major Swathi doesn't view peace as a grand, sweeping treaty signed in a distant capital. To her, it is a "sequence of change."
I don't claim that I have curbed sexual violence. I am a small part of a huge organization but I know I have contributed my 0.1 per cent to the peace process," says the young soldier.”
That contribution took the form of the ‘Equal Partners, Lasting Peace’ initiative. By deploying frequent mixed patrols of men and women into local communities, her team broke through long-standing barriers of silence. They weren't there to talk about the high-level politics of Juba; they were there to listen to what actually mattered to the people of Malakal.
Suddenly, women, who had been silent for years, began to speak. They talked about the everyday challenges that defined their lives: their children’s safety, the walk to school, and their struggle with domestic and conflict-related sexual violence.
“The women started coming forward and telling us ‘we are stuck in a situation where our daughters are being forced to marry into some other family where they do not want to go’.”
Major Swathi Shanthakumar visits a school in Malakal, South Sudan. Credit: UN Mission in South Sudan
Major Swathi works with the peacekeeping mission’s gender and child protection teams, among others, to help these families and communities find solutions through awareness, reporting and if needed, interventions. But she is the first to admit that change doesn't happen overnight. It is not a single grand gesture but a domino effect.
“When you raise awareness that a child should pick up a book instead of a weapon like a soldier, it’s something you can’t change immediately," she says. "Change was possible the moment we approached the women and children directly and the mothers told us: ‘I do not want my child to fight a battle.’ That is the sequence of change."
A member of the all-women engagement talks to women and children in Malakal, South Sudan. Outreach to local communities is a critical part of the team's work. Credit: UN Mission in South Sudan
Be the change
Before her journey from the silicon valley of India - Bengaluru - to the riverbanks of South Sudan, Major Swathi studied electrical engineering and worked as a security analyst at IBM. Her courage for change, spurred by her father’s support to break gender stereotypes, and her conviction to give back to communities, led her into the military eight years ago and eventually into peacekeeping.
“Since I've gotten so much support from my family and friends, I just wanted to give something back to the community. Around the world, especially when you read the news and see what is going on, you feel like someone else should also have this privilege,” she says, talking about the inequalities that persist in the world.
Sometimes we just take the daily routine - food, a bed, college - as something that we just have. But that is something which a young kid over here aspires to have in the future - to not worry about where their next meal is coming from or where they would go to school.”
An Indian peacekeeper provides takes care of a young student in Malakal, South Sudan. Credit: UN Mission in South Sudan
Rise to meet your own courage
"Being real, resilient and unapologetically you” is a belief that she always carries with her whether she's on a river patrol or in a community meeting.
She is always looking for a solution to a problem - whether it’s finding a better way for women to speak up against violence or helping a child read. To Major Swathi, the most important tool a young leader can own isn't a manual or a degree - it’s the conviction to stop observing the crisis and see how you can contribute to solving it. It is about finding a way through the "no" to get to the "how."
As she hands over her command and prepares to return to India, Major Swathi leaves the next generation of “co-creators” of peace, whether its peacekeepers or community leaders or activists with a final challenge: “keep fanning the flame within you and rise to meet your own courage.”
Major Swathi Shanthakumar with women in Malakal, South Sudan, during a community outreach session. Creditr: UN Mission in South Sudan
Learn more about the work of peacekeepeers serving with the UN Mission in South Sudan.
Explore the UN Service and Sacrifice campaign that pays tribute to the more than 2 million paecekeepers who have served under the UN flag since 1948.