Sabarimala Temple board’s controversial move for inventing a machine to ‘check the purity of women’ entering the famous temple has invited flak from women across the nation. Taken aback with this, women have launched a counter campaign ‘Happy To Bleed’ on social networking sites. Taking on ‘menstrual taboos’ and ‘sexism’ of the board, the counter campaign instantly went viral online.
Earlier this month, the Sabarimala temple authorities, when asked about allowing women to enter the shrine, said that can only be done once a machine that scans menstruating women – “just like the ones that check for weapons” – is invented.
“A time will come when people will ask if all women should be disallowed from entering the temple throughout the year. These days there are machines that can scan bodies and check for weapons. There will be a day when a machine is invented to scan if it is the ‘right time’ for a woman to enter the temple. When that machine is invented, we will talk about letting women inside,” Prayar Gopalakrishnan, who recently took charge as Devaswom Board President, told .
From time immemorial, women have not been allowed inside shrine in Sabarimala temple. Meanwhile, several intellectuals too joined the cause and offered support to the campaign of ‘Happy To Bleed’.