Promoting Gender Equality in Moldova’s National Army: A Commitment to an Equitable Society
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Elena Țarălungă actively advocates for gender equality in Moldova’s security and defense sectors. As the Head of the Public Policy Coordination and European Integration Unit at Moldova’s Ministry of Defense and President of the National Army Women's Association (AFAN), she plays a key role in implementing the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda by promoting women’s meaningful participation in peace and security processes.
"The creation of AFAN in 2019 was a true milestone for the military structure,” she explains. “The decision was driven by the desire and need to advance the Ministry of Defense’s commitments to the WPS Agenda, including its gender equality principles, and to address challenges women face within the system."
AFAN supports women’s professional development in the security and defense sectors, with the primary goal of combating gender stereotypes and promoting equal opportunities. It emphasizes women's ability to perform at the same level as men in this field. It also encourages increasing women’s participation at all hierarchical and decision-making levels of the army and ensuring their fair representation in international missions.
"The current, increasingly complex security context requires defense personnel to possess skills beyond physical abilities,” says Țarălungă. “Strategic thinking, adaptability and effective communication with the local population are needed to prevent urban or community conflicts and combat cyber warfare. In this regard, the involvement of both women and men in the security and defense sectors is essential."
While supporting the implementation of Moldova’s first National Action Plan (NAP) on UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (2018-2021), followed by its second NAP (2023-2027), UN Women has assisted women's associations in the security and defense sectors. This support has included strengthening their internal capacities to integrate a gender perspective into their programming and promote the WPS Agenda in Moldova.
"Men continue to dominate the security and defense sector, so AFAN seeks to help change society's perceptions of military women and promote a healthy and respectful attitude towards them within this field,” says Dominika Stojanoska, UN Women’s Country Representative. “UN Women supports AFAN in creating an inclusive environment in the National Army, where women enjoy equal rights and opportunities, allowing them to complete their missions successfully.”
AFAN has initiated various projects in its five years of activity that have helped slowly change mentalities and create more opportunities for military women. This has involved organizing training sessions for women and engaging them in crisis management activities, such as during the pandemic and the refugee crisis caused by the war in Ukraine.
"We’ve encouraged women's involvement through our actions, highlighting their professionalism and perseverance,” says Țarălungă. “With the support of UN Women Moldova, we organized the online conference 'Women’s Participation in Peacebuilding' in 2020. This event brought together women from the National Army, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the police.”
Țarălungă notes that AFAN helped develop and promote Moldova’s law outlining a national procedure for preventing, identifying, recording, reporting and addressing cases of discrimination, sexual harassment and gender-based violence. “Every year, we join the 'Denim Day' and '16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence’ campaigns,” she adds. “We also participate in different experience exchanges, study visits and conferences, advocating for a more inclusive defense system centered on people’s needs."
AFAN’s activities support the idea that women are true promoters of peace and security, and Moldova’s government has shown its capacity to realize this commitment.Between 2007 and 2024, Moldova deployed 17 women in international peacekeeping missions, including in countries such as Georgia, the Ivory Coast and South Sudan. Currently, 20 per cent of individual military positions are held by women. This year, Moldova deployed seven women to UNIFIL (Lebanon) and KFOR (Kosovo) missions in line with UN requirements. A woman from Moldova was also deployed to the UN Department of Peace Operations in New York for the first time in the organization’s history.
"The responsibilities of women in missions are the same as those of men,” explains Țarălungă. “But their presence in patrol teams has a significant impact on raising awareness of the issues faced by women, girls and boys in conflict zones, thus increasing the legitimacy and implementation of the mission's mandate. Although there have been successes in advancing women in international missions, internal issues still need strengthening."
In recent years, Moldova’s Ministry of Defense has made efforts to increase women's participation and representation in the security and defense sector, notes Țarălungă. “But let's not overlook that reducing stereotypes about women's roles in security and peace processes requires joint efforts,” she says. “More measures are needed to enable women’s broader representation. One example is adapting [security and defense] equipment to meet women’s needs, as it is currently the same for both women and men."
Today, AFAN continues to grow, supporting women in the National Army. "What we are doing is not just for us but for the generations of women who will follow us,” says Țarălungă. “Women in the army are no longer an outlier in national security—they are part of its future.”