Inducted in the first Mahila Battalion of the CRPF (raised in 1986), she has been part of operations in Sri Lanka, Jammu and Kashmir, Mizoram and during the Aligarh communal riot of 2006.

Being a woman, she says, does not affect her duties in the paramilitary force in any way. “You learn to adjust family life with your duties,” the mother of a 22-year-old daughter and an 11-year-old son said.

Khan is part of the 3rd Female Formed Police Unit (FFPU), a women combat force of the CRPF comprising 102 women and logistical support staff of 23 men.

“India is the only country to send an all-women unit on peacekeeping missions,” R K Dua, Deputy Inspector General of the New Delhi Range, CRPF, said. “This is the third consecutive year that the contingent has been sent to assist the fledgling Liberian national police force.”

“The vehicles they use there need to be more compact, powerful and sturdy; we have requested for modifications to the Vajra (transport) and Varun (water cannon) vehicles for the rough terrain and small lanes of Liberia,” Dua said. The contingent will take clothes suited for the hot weather of the country.

Members of the contingent underwent a six-week pre-induction training at the Rapid Action Force’s headquarters in Delhi. Besides advanced unarmed combat, crowd control, rescue and relief operations and basic first-aid, they were trained in the English language and computer skills.

“The UNPKF has a mandate to use minimum force but it is required to be trained in small weapons,” Annie Abraham, Commandant of the 3rd FFPU, said.

The duties of the contingent extend beyond maintaining law and order. In the last two years, the FFPU has taken part in community outreach programmes like teaching basic self-defence to women and holding adult education classes. This year, with a trained HIV-AIDS counsellor on board, the unit will hold awareness camps in the West African country.

After the send-off ceremony on Thursday, the continent will leave for Liberia in two groups for a year — the first group leaves on February 3 and the second on February 17.