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CHENNAI: To overcome gender stereotype and inspire women, the Tamil Nadu Urban Sanitation Support Programme (TNUSSP) will launch a digital campaign, ‘Women in Sanitation’, on the occasion of International Women’s Day that falls on March 8, featuring women, from various parts of the country.

Starting Wednesday, the group will share videos every month on social media platforms. These will showcase women sanitation professionals, who will candidly share their journeys, the challenges they faced along the way, and the ways in which they overcame them.

The four-year-old campaign believes that women’s issues should not get the spotlight merely once a year on Women’s Day, but be a continuing discourse between women professionals and their allies.

“We have featured more than 30 professionals in the last three years. The roles in the sanitation sector are stereotyped by gender. It will inspire women who want to take up a career in sanitation,” said Abhilaasha, specialist of TNUSSP.

The aim of the campaign is to ask the viewers to stop and reflect on what additional support is required for women professionals to meet the equity in leadership, representation and visibility.

“As many as 30 videos will feature women sanitation workers, where they speak about the roles and challenges in the field. Unlike the usual videos, it will be inspirational for others. These women will explain the challenges they faced along their way and the bold ways in which they overcame them. The sanitation workers are from Tamil Nadu and other states of the country, Nepal, Africa, and South America,” said another volunteer from TNUSSP.

TNUSSP has collaborated with organisations around the world to bring forth films and discussions that are centered around the powerful stories of women sanitation professionals. The first film of the series will be launched on Wednesday on the organisation’s YouTube handle ‘tnussp9401’.

The women candidly share their journeys, the challenges they faced, and the ways in which they overcame them