Social media starts #HappyToBleed movement, in reaction to a statement made by the president of the Board that manages Sabrimala temple, about inventing machine to scan women for menstruation before allowing them on premises
A protester displays a u00c3u00a2u00c2u0080u00c2u0098Happy To Bleedu00c3u00a2u00c2u0080u00c2u0099 placard to express her ire against the controversial statement made by the top brass of the Sabrimala temple trust
New Delhi: Outraged at the controversial statement made by Prayar Gopalakrishnan, who recently took charge as Devaswom Board President that manages the famous Sabrimala temple, women across India launched a #HappyToBleed counter campaign on social networking sites to protest against menstrual taboos and sexism of the temple authorities.
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A protester displays a 'Happy To Bleed' placard to express her ire against the controversial statement made by the top brass of the Sabrimala temple trust
The campaign, which stared on Saturday, has women posting picture holding placards/sanitary napkins saying Happy To Bleed. Earlier this month, Gopalakrishnan had stated that women can be allowed to enter the shrine once a machine that scans menstruating women is in place — like the ones that check for weapons.
Pics/Twitter
Following his controversial statement, a woman named Nikita Azad wrote an open letter to Gopalakrishnan, criticising his comments and the prevailing sexism in India. Azad’s letter, which first appeared on the Youth Ki Awaz page on Facebook, went viral following which the Happy To Bleed campaign started on November 21. The campaign is now trending on Twitter as #HappyToBleed.