We Too Urban Women

This 40 minute documentary titled “We Too Urban Women” presents the gender dimensions of urban resettlement projects implemented in the city of Chennai, India. Housing for urban poor is a challenge, as governments implement resettlement projects of vulnerable urban poor, the perspectives of these vulnerable communities are often ignored leading to more problems and rights violations. Slums evictions are part of river restoration, flood rehabilitation programme and urban development of Chennai city in India. The documentary presents the stories of poor urban women who depend on the city for their livelihood. The women demand for inclusive urban development initiatives. When resettlement sites are situated far away from the city, the women face multidimensional problems. Filmed over a span of two years, this participatory documentary stresses on the need for inclusive urban development by asserting that these poor women need the city; and the city needs them too. This documentary initiative is an international academic collaborative project between Institute for Housing & Urban Development Studies, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The Netherlands and Department of Media Sciences, Anna University, Chennai, India and was funded by the DAIDA Foundation, The Netherlands.