A campaign designed to remove shame from menstruation is sweeping social media in India, after misogynistic comments made by a temple chief sparked outrage.

The ‘Happy to Bleed’ campaign was launched as a protest, after an Indian temple chief said that women would only be allowed to enter a shrine after he had invented a machine that detects when women are ‘pure’ – i.e. not on their periods.

Temple chief, Prayar Gopalakrishnan, told reporters that: “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,” he says.

“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.”

“Happy to bleed”: this group response to period shaming is inspired