<div>Almost a year after the #HappyToBleed campaign began, a lot of discourse developed around menstruation on different online platforms. Even though many NGOs were working on the issue previously, this campaign threw the word period out in the open. <div><br /></div><div>The campaign started with activist Nikita Azad, responding to the controversial statement by Prayar Gopalakrishnan, current president of Travancore Devaswom Board that women will be allowed to enter the famous Sabrimala temple in Kerala only after a machine to ‘check the purity of women’ is invented.</div><div><br /></div><div>“It started on 20th November last year on Facebook with me writing an open letter to Prayar Gopalakrishnan. It did not happen spontaneously. I was involved in a students organisation and activism when I heard a sexist statement about menstruation from the temple chief of Sabrimala temple, Gopalakrishnan. At that time, I was already writing and sending articles to magazines and websites so I decided to address this issue as well. What prompted me was that such a comment came from the so-called stakeholders of a public religious place,” said Azad.</div><div><br /></div><div>“It was never about the temple only, but about the shame that is attached to menstruation because of which women are looked down upon. consequentially, such shame reduces the already shrunken space for women to talk about menstrual care. However, when I wrote the open letter, I did not think about launching a campaign. The reaction was unexpected,” she added.</div><div><br /></div><div>#HappyToBleed has been criticised for being anti-Hindu, to which Azad reacted, “The objective is to target menstrual discrimination across religions but since it began from Hindu religion, people will label it as anti-Hindu. Where there is a possibility, we try to engage in debate and convince people how patriarchal and male-dominated religion is, and where there is no scope, we let them speak. Just like us, they have a right to dissent. However, again, I would say, religion has a considerably big role in legitimising menstrual discrimination in society. Hence, we will definitely target it.”</div><div><br /></div><div>Talking about the the current strategy of #HappyToBleed , she said they will focus on documenting the menstrual taboos in the society, so they could be brought out into the public eye. She said, “The survey focuses on the kind of taboos that exist across religions and the access to menstrual care. We have a questionnaire and we make videos as well. Till date, we have covered about 1500-2000 cases. We are in the process of documenting it.”</div><div><br /></div><div>Further explaining the reasons behind this plan, she added, “In the present day world, menstrual taboos are intertwined with women's mobility, her right to take her own decisions and her control over her body. As soon as a girl starts menstruating, a lot of insecurities around her sexual nature are built, and society starts rigidly guarding her sexual behaviour as well as other routine activities. Data reveals that 23 per cent girls drop out of school once they start menstruating. The spaces of society shrink rapidly for women after this juncture of their lives. This leads to the denial of a lot of basic services like sanitation, health care, menstrual care, reproductive health. Also, according to a survey, 88 per cent women do not have access to sanitary napkins are forced to use cloth, sand, and cotton.”</div><div><br /></div><div>Markandey Katju had also remarked that instead of fighting enter the temples, women should be entering scientific institutions and libraries, to which she said, “Well, it is good to know and be surrounded by intelligent and conscious people like Mr Katju and I do respect him for that. However, despite the differences he might have, it is important to stand in solidarity with independent struggles of women, dalits, adivasis, and minorities. Secondly, the fact that religious institutions exist and exaceberate patriarchy is why we need to address it. You cannot run from it.”</div><div><br /></div><div>The campaign has also faced a lot of online trolling and activists working on menstruation have been told to fight for ‘real issues’. But Azad feels this is a real issue. “Women bleed. If you consider it impure, they feel inferior. It instils an inferiority complex in girls at a very tender age which they carry throughout their life. A whole giant industry relies on it, extracting profit from women's pain, why are we not supposed to consider it a real issue?”</div></div>
<div>Almost a year after the #HappyToBleed campaign began, a lot of discourse developed around menstruation on different online platforms. Even though many NGOs were working on the issue previously, this campaign threw the word period out in the open. <div><br /></div><div>The campaign started with activist Nikita Azad, responding to the controversial statement by Prayar Gopalakrishnan, current president of Travancore Devaswom Board that women will be allowed to enter the famous Sabrimala temple in Kerala only after a machine to ‘check the purity of women’ is invented.</div><div><br /></div><div>“It started on 20th November last year on Facebook with me writing an open letter to Prayar Gopalakrishnan. It did not happen spontaneously. I was involved in a students organisation and activism when I heard a sexist statement about menstruation from the temple chief of Sabrimala temple, Gopalakrishnan. At that time, I was already writing and sending articles to magazines and websites so I decided to address this issue as well. What prompted me was that such a comment came from the so-called stakeholders of a public religious place,” said Azad.</div><div><br /></div><div>“It was never about the temple only, but about the shame that is attached to menstruation because of which women are looked down upon. consequentially, such shame reduces the already shrunken space for women to talk about menstrual care. However, when I wrote the open letter, I did not think about launching a campaign. The reaction was unexpected,” she added.</div><div><br /></div><div>#HappyToBleed has been criticised for being anti-Hindu, to which Azad reacted, “The objective is to target menstrual discrimination across religions but since it began from Hindu religion, people will label it as anti-Hindu. Where there is a possibility, we try to engage in debate and convince people how patriarchal and male-dominated religion is, and where there is no scope, we let them speak. Just like us, they have a right to dissent. However, again, I would say, religion has a considerably big role in legitimising menstrual discrimination in society. Hence, we will definitely target it.”</div><div><br /></div><div>Talking about the the current strategy of #HappyToBleed , she said they will focus on documenting the menstrual taboos in the society, so they could be brought out into the public eye. She said, “The survey focuses on the kind of taboos that exist across religions and the access to menstrual care. We have a questionnaire and we make videos as well. Till date, we have covered about 1500-2000 cases. We are in the process of documenting it.”</div><div><br /></div><div>Further explaining the reasons behind this plan, she added, “In the present day world, menstrual taboos are intertwined with women's mobility, her right to take her own decisions and her control over her body. As soon as a girl starts menstruating, a lot of insecurities around her sexual nature are built, and society starts rigidly guarding her sexual behaviour as well as other routine activities. Data reveals that 23 per cent girls drop out of school once they start menstruating. The spaces of society shrink rapidly for women after this juncture of their lives. This leads to the denial of a lot of basic services like sanitation, health care, menstrual care, reproductive health. Also, according to a survey, 88 per cent women do not have access to sanitary napkins are forced to use cloth, sand, and cotton.”</div><div><br /></div><div>Markandey Katju had also remarked that instead of fighting enter the temples, women should be entering scientific institutions and libraries, to which she said, “Well, it is good to know and be surrounded by intelligent and conscious people like Mr Katju and I do respect him for that. However, despite the differences he might have, it is important to stand in solidarity with independent struggles of women, dalits, adivasis, and minorities. Secondly, the fact that religious institutions exist and exaceberate patriarchy is why we need to address it. You cannot run from it.”</div><div><br /></div><div>The campaign has also faced a lot of online trolling and activists working on menstruation have been told to fight for ‘real issues’. But Azad feels this is a real issue. “Women bleed. If you consider it impure, they feel inferior. It instils an inferiority complex in girls at a very tender age which they carry throughout their life. A whole giant industry relies on it, extracting profit from women's pain, why are we not supposed to consider it a real issue?”</div></div>
