‘Cup of Life’ creates Guinness World Record, one lakh and one menstrual cups donated in Kerala’s Ernakulam

“There has been no record in the same category. This is the category which is the most sanitary products donated in 24 hours. There was no record done so far and we had a minimum requirement of 33,003 cups. There have been similar attempts of most sanitary products distributed but in less time,” Swapnil Dangarikar, GWR Adjudicator told indianexpress.com.

 

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Appreciating the product, he added, “I think that it is sustainable, a future product. It is something that is not talked about openly and creating a record results in an open mindset towards change.”

Several young volunteers along with the officials organised multiple events in different parts of the district promoting discussion on menstruation. (Source: IMA Cochin)

Eden, a Member of Parliament, has been working towards breaking the taboo surrounding menstruation. “It’s a fantastic feeling for a people’s representative to not just building roads, bridges and infrastructure. Apart from that, being an instrument of change, not just being political representative but create a change to influence people’s minds and create culture transition, it is a great feeling.”

Menstrual cups also demand the need for clean public toilets. When asked about the plight of unhygienic public toilets, he said, “We are promoting more public toilets. We do not have the proper system to maintain the toilets. We are ready to do the work, but once the toilets are installed, maintenance is done by Local Self Government (LSG). We need a good model.”

Dr Renu Raj, Ernakulam District Collector said during the event that half of the population constitute women. “Undoubtedly, the product will have a huge impact.” She also lauded “open-minded Kochi”. The event was a crowd puller with a performance by musician Stephen Devassy; actors Asif Ali and Ramesh Pisharody also addressed the audience.

Dr Akhil Manuel, Project Cordinator of Cup of Life told indianexpress.com that braving the inundated roads in Ernakulam on August 30, many people came forward for the initiative. He also added that the response from the public was really great. “While people were hesitant initially with the open conversation during several events, towards the end of the programs they had a positive response,” he added.

Period pain simulator experimentation turned an eye-opener for many. (Source: IMA Cochin)

Haneesh Meerasa, IMA Cochin vice president spoke about the overwhelming response from several colleges. He said that Kufos college had arranged a thiruvathira with menstrual cups. “There were men who praised women with folded hands after experimenting with period pain simulators,” he added.

Anna Eden, the Ernakulam MP’s wife said menstrual cups are life changing. She started using them six or seven years ago. “After delivering my child, I had a huge discharge of blood and I used tampons. Acting on my aunt’s suggestion, I started using menstrual cups. There was no leakage and periods became easier.”

Dr Maria Varghese, IMA Cochin president said that they have been working towards this initiative for two years. Owing to the pandemic, the campaign was not fully implemented.

Dr Anitha Thilakan, secretary, IMA Cochin said that the campaign facilitated conversation about menstruation. Herself a menstrual cup user, she also agreed it was life-changing. “After starting using the cup, I became unaware of periods. Swimming or dancing became hassle-free with the usage of cups,” she added.

The campaign triggered uninhibited discussion on menstruation.

From period pain simulator experimentation to training sessions for the beneficiaries, the Cup of Life campaign has been organising several activities for about three months. Hannah Grace Joseph, project assistant shared her experience during the campaign. “We were able to break people’s inhibitions towards talking about periods. Initially, people were shy and only a lesser fraction of people knew about menstrual cups. Now, 1,00,001 households will talk about cups and menstruation,” she said.