“People often talk about the glass ceiling in UN peacekeeping,” says Geetha Pious. “I think that the glass ceiling comes into play very early in life; societies bracket men and women into specific gender roles without acknowledging that we can successfully blur these lines.” 

When it comes to her life and career, Geetha hasn’t just blurred these lines but completely erased them.

Growing up in a conservative family in Kerala, India, as the daughter of a politician and president of the local council, Geetha became an avid reader of politics and philosophy.

When it came to her higher studies, she wanted to pursue law; however, caving into parental pressure, she became a civil engineer instead. Her engineering career was short-lived.

“I joined the Indian Information Centre just three years after graduating as an engineer. I worked on digitizing old films, classics that needed to be preserved and updated to latest formats,” reveals Geetha.

Following this, she was deputized to work with the state government of Kerala to coordinate a project on e-literacy and e-governance. The Akshaya E-Literacy Project received international recognition as a future-looking initiative and brought her into close contact with people who worked with the United Nations.

She took the advice of mentors and applied to the Organization and, in 2005, found herself in the AU-UN Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) setting up a database for the mission’s Human Rights Section. “As I started working in human rights, I immediately found myself drawn to learn more. In 2009, I was working on the global database for human rights in the UN Office in Geneva, when I met the Director of Human Rights in the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI). He immediately invited me to join his team,” recounts Geetha.

Geetha was posted in Basra, Iraq, where she worked for 16 months. This fueled her drive to learn more about people affected by conflict and she soon moved to the UN mission in Kosovo to set up a new section that dealt with dialogue and reconciliation. “Iraq and Kosovo taught me not to hide behind a computer. If I wanted to fight for the rights of the vulnerable and the marginalized, I knew I had to understand communities, interact with them and help them as best as I could,” she states Geetha.

In 2015, Geetha relocated to UNMISS as the Civil Affairs Team Leader in Juba. Soon after she joined, conflict erupted in the world’s newest country. “I came to South Sudan in December 2015. Barely six months later, Central Equatoria was a battlefield with women and children being the most affected,” she recalls. “I threw myself into persuading mission leadership to set up a base in Yei, an area where massive atrocities were being committed,” she says. “I was successful and in 2017, I was appointed as Head of Office for Juba and Yei. This is what I’ve been doing for the past four years,” she says smiling.

Responsible and action oriented, Geetha was up to the challenge of leading a major UNMISS arm from the front. Her firm belief in the Gandhian tenet of non-violence adds to her ability to work in mitigating conflict.

“I was brought up with a very defined notion of what a woman should aspire to and look at me today. I work in a job that is extremely tough. My day begins at 4:30 a.m. and ends way beyond what anybody would consider acceptable under normal circumstances,” she laughs.

Field work inspires Geetha. “There’s nothing like being on the ground and observing a situation for oneself. I’m constantly accompanying colleagues on patrols, some of which last for days, because if I don’t know what the people are suffering how can I be of any help?”

“In the course of my life, I’ve always taken up jobs that mean something to me and roles that I’m passionate about. Women look at a problem from all angles. Therefore, when they are involved in decision-making processes, that country often prospers. I hope this will be true of South Sudan one day,” she avers.

Geetha’s commitment to a prosperous and peaceful South Sudan has brought her into contact with diverse actors—government officials, faith-based groups, community leaders, women’s representatives and armed groups. Such is the respect she commands among local interlocuters and UNMISS counterparts that she is referred to as the “Iron Lady” of Juba.

When asked about this, she chuckles. “I don’t know about being an ‘Iron Lady’ but, yes, I am fiercely committed to the people I am here to serve. I reach out to people every day and I listen to them every day. Often, our own biases and fears can lead us astray. I try my best to make sure whatever is needed, whatever we can do within our capacity and mandate, is done swiftly, efficiently and benefits the maximum number of people,” she states.

This remarkable woman and leader says she believes the day isn’t far when the UN will have a female Secretary-General. “Often women limit themselves. I believe that there are endless possibilities available for every individual if we have the courage to go beyond the acceptable, safe boundaries.

“My message to the women of South Sudan—speak up, speak out and claim your place in the sun. With education comes economic empowerment, so send your daughters to school. Together, you have the power to make this country a true democracy.”