However, Cup of Life, a joint initiative of Indian Medical Association Cochin, The Muthoot Group and Ernakulam MP Hibi Eden, took a giant leap in breaking the barriers.
It targeted the non-menstruators by making them feel the exact pain which women go through once in every 28-30 days of their entire life.
This social experiment was done at Lulu Mall in which period pain simulators were used on men.
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The video of the experiment has been shared by Cup of Life on Instagram where it can be seen that men, who often get reluctant to speak on menstruation and many of whom are ignorant about menstrual pains, are actually hollering in pain. In one shot it can be seen that two men are tightly hugging and comforting each other during the pain.
Lawyer Sandra Sunny, who designed the event, told the BBC that this is the easiest way to convey the message, encourage meaningful conversations and change such attitudes. “If you ask college boys directly what they know about period cramps, they’d be reluctant to talk. But if you ask them questions like – ‘have they talked about periods with anyone, what makes them reluctant to talk about it’ – after using the simulator, they are more forthcoming,” she told the media.
The simulator can even increase the degree of pain from one to ten.
‘Switch it off!’
Sharan Nair, a social media influencer, who participated in the event said, “That was really painful. I never want to experience that ever again.” He also said that girls who tried it did not feel anything “while the guys, including me, were hollering and bringing the place down”.
Many guys could not stand the pain and requested to turn it off, a student organiser, Zeenath KS, told the BBC. “They reacted immediately, saying, ‘switch it off!’,” Zeenath said. As part of the social experiment the simulator was also run in private colleges.
Meanwhile, the girls did not even flinch a bit, guys have said.
On this, Dr Akhil Manuel, joint secretary of the local chapter of the IMA and coordinator of the Cup of Life campaign, says it is a common reaction.
People need to talk more about menstruation
Instead of just labeling it as a woman problem, lady issue,a monthly issue, people should actually come forward and talk more about this biological phenomenon which supports life on this planet. Let’s appreciate this biological process because of which life exists on this planet and not reduce it to code words like lady issue. It is a lady’s gift to the world, not an issue.
On this, Dr Manuel says, “The simulator was simply a hook to break the ice and help people get into the conversation.”
Events, like this one, have been gaining traction in recent times
Cup of life has joined a few other organisations who are also focused on bridging the gap between menstruation and the awareness around it.
Few months before, a US based company had also carried out a similar experiment and that received lots of attention on social media.
On this campaign, the Congress legislator Hibi Eden says, the larger purpose is to generate open discussions and create a healthy, progressive attitude towards menstruation. Earlier he had started an initiative to distribute menstrual cups to women in Kerala’s Kumbalangi village. This year, the state government declared the village India’s first sanitary pad free village.
The Cup of Life campaign will run for 4 months with an aim to distribute 1,00,000 menstrual cups.
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