#HappyToBleed campaign launched to protest sexism of Sabrimala temple authorities

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

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.

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.

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