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A beacon of hope: Doreen Malambo, 2020 UN Woman Police Officer of the Year

Chief Inspector Doreen Mazuba Malambo from Zambia has won the 2020 United Nations Woman Police Officer of the Year Award. She is currently serving with UNMISS as the UNPOL Gender Adviser.

When you teach a woman, you teach a nation,” said Chief Inspector Doreen Mazuba Malambo in 2017.

Little did this police officer from Zambia imagine that three years later she would win the 2020 United Nations Woman Police Officer of the Year Award.

“My journey with UN Peacekeeping began in 2008 when I joined the mission in Liberia,” Doreen reveals. “I was 32 years old at the time and fiercely driven to prove myself as a capable Gender Adviser among international counterparts,” Doreen reveals.

Her moment to shine came unexpectedly. “I happened to be at a local police station when a deaf woman who had been assaulted came in to report the crime, but nobody could understand her.” Doreen, fluent in sign language and having worked intensively in Zambia to bridge the gap between police officers and people with disabilities, naturally stepped in to translate.

This instinct to connect with, protect and serve every individual who needs assistance is what led Doreen to come to South Sudan in April 2016, as a Joint Integrated Police Trainer with the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).

“Three months after I was deployed here violence erupted and the country was in chaos. It was like a nightmare for me when I heard bullets flying over my head,” she recalls.

“I had no direction on the first day of the crisis. On the second day, we were following radio updates and they called on UNPOL officers to do our primary job—protect the South Sudanese people who were flooding in to the UNMISS camp in Juba to seek refuge,” she reminisces. “I was the first woman officer to just head out; I didn’t even have a protective jacket.”

Witnessing the suffering that women and children were going through was hard for Doreen, but she dived headfirst into helping people. “I was scared myself but I knew that if a police officer in uniform shows fear then there will be no hope for these women. So, I started encouraging them and telling them that the fighting will stop, it will end,” she states.

A single mother working on the frontlines of conflict in the world’s newest country, she empathized deeply with young mothers separated from their families and underaged girls who were sexually violated. “Many women revealed to me that their husbands were in the bush fighting; some women were being used as conveyer belts to take ammunition and food to the men.”

It is at this point that Doreen’s experience in Liberia kicked in. “I started sharing stories with newly displaced women from South Sudan how Liberian women managed to bring peace to their own country. It wasn’t really the men, but the women who fought for peace in Liberia,” she reveals. “I must have influenced a few of them because soon enough, many women started calling upon their husbands to stop fighting. We began seeing men coming in to the UNMISS compound and surrendering their weapons.”

Doreen’s remarkable contributions did not go unrecognized. Her first tour of duty came to an end in 2018 but she returned to UNMISS barely three months later.

In her second deployment, Doreen is the UNPOL Gender Adviser for the mission, a multifaceted role where she works to raise awareness among national interlocuters such as the South Sudan National Police Service and the National Prisons Service about integrating gender perspectives into their daily functions. She also provides technical assistance and advice on key issues such as protection of civilians and the Women, Peace and Security agenda. She finds her work immensely satisfying.

“I’ve always believed that women need to be heard on any issue that has a direct bearing on their day-to-day life. My work as a Gender Adviser allows me to make efforts towards empowering South Sudanese women and girls every day. Being able to build capacities of local law enforcement agencies is a bonus,” she claims.

Additionally, Doreen actively helps build skillsets and strengths of UNPOL personnel. “Knowledge is the only commodity that doesn’t decrease when you share it. I love sharing everything I know with my colleagues from across the world. I learn from them every day as well,” states the 44-year-old police officer with a smile.

“My friends often ask me what my biggest achievement in South Sudan is,” continues Doreen. “I have a ready answer: My role in the formation of the South Sudan National Police Service Women’s Network which engages women from local communities to develop their livelihood skills, enabling them to earn and support themselves as well as their families. Secondly, using sign language to interact with South Sudanese who are deaf.”

Despite the pain and suffering she has seen, Doreen remains as optimistic about life and working to serve a greater good as she was on the first day she wore the iconic blue beret. “I’m overwhelmed and honoured by the recognition given to me by the United Nations. But the true reward for me as a peacekeeper, as a police officer and as a woman is the opportunity to serve a cause that transcends all boundaries – sustainable peace for all, including the marginalized, the displaced and the disabled.”