YKA Insights Lab

20-year-old Nikita Azad wouldn’t have it any more. All her life, she had carried sanitary napkins in a black polythene bag to ‘protect her honour’ and had consciously hidden them from her dad and brother. She had done her bit to never offend the “sacred culture of our society” but she was not able to “stop the blood from flowing”. 

When the keepers of Sabrimala Temple, a 5000-year-old temple in India, stated that women would be allowed inside only after ‘purity checking machines’ were invented, Nikita was deeply shocked and saddened. An avid campus correspondent from Patiala, who has previously written articles on student protests and raised her voice against sexism and patriarchy, she wrote an open letter on Youth Ki Awaaz expressing her dismay and boldly said that this statement would let more women fight against such “retrogressive, misogynistic” customs. 

And that’s exactly what happened. 

Nikita’s letter went viral and in the next 3 days a nationwide campaign called #HappyToBleed was started where men and women put up photos to encourage open and honest conversation around menstruation. With powerful messages like “I will not bleed in silence”, "Women bleed, that’s why we exist” and “Smash patriarchy!”, sexism and taboos were challenged head on and a topic usually spoken about in hushed tones became a part of mainstream conversation in the media. 

The campaign was written about by news networks around the world, right from the BBC, Vocativ and The Jerusalem Post, to The Hindu, The Quint and Indian Express. News channels called representatives from the Sabrimala Temple as well to debate on the issue. The hashtag #HappyToBleed also trended in India on Twitter. Youth Ki Awaaz’s Founder and Editor-in-Chief, Anshul Tewari, was called to join a panel discussion on NDTV 24/7 where he spoke about the responses that Nikita’s letter had received and stressed on how, for decades, menstruation has been used as a tool for the “systematic subjugation of women”. 

However, as the debate heated up, negative responses began to pour in, with people stating that the campaign was “against religion and tradition” and that it was fuelled by “modern girls with Westernised notions”. A few people confidently stated that there was no connection between menstruation taboos and barring entry for women in temples; it was just an “old tradition”. 

Here is the other side of the responses that the campaign received.

What many such responses didn’t take into account is that this campaign was not only about ending discriminatory rules that Sabrimala and other temples have, it was about much more. One Facebook post put it across articulately: “ Let us be clear, this is not a temple-entry campaign. This campaign is an initiative against sexism, and the taboos it upholds since ages.” As another post said, “It is an issue of basic rights.”

As the campaign caught up and people across India contributed in great numbers, Nikita wrote a follow-up piece on Youth Ki Awaaz, summing up her experience. She emphasised that “the campaign is not against any particular religion or religious practice, but against all the menstrual taboos that exist in our society”. She thanked all those who supported her saying that “the campaign has actually become a voice of progressive, democratic people”. 

And for all those who think that age-old customs and traditions cannot be challenged, Nikita has a strong message. 

Like Nikita, many others have raised their voice on Youth Ki Awaaz on issues that affect them. You too can submit a story and make change possible: http://www.youthkiawaaz.com/login/. 

We also received two other pieces after the #HappyToBleed campaign was launched. Read them here:

As A Man, I Support #HappyToBleed. It’s High Time We Do Away With Menstrual Taboos!

Of Sweat, Semen And Menstruation: The Problematic Support For #HappyToBleed 

To continue meaningful conversation around women’s health rights, take a campaign with CREA to address the stigma around abortion. Titled #AbortTheStigma, one of the campaign’s illustrations received overwhelming responses from around the world. See them here.