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Step Right Up, Mr. Tough Guy, and Try Enduring Menstrual Cramps

To take the conversation to men, Sandra Sunny, an aspiring lawyer in Kochi, designed the #feelthepain concept for the campaign. She said a doctor friend had suggested using physiotherapy tools to simulate the cramps in men. An electric current passes through the simulator, which initially feels like a vibration. As the intensity is increased on the machine, the intensity of the “cramps” does, too.

“I had seen many videos on YouTube where the same method was used on men abroad,” she said. “I thought to myself, why can’t we do it here also?”

Employees at a Kochi hotel trying the simulator at a Cup of Life event.Credit…Cup of life

As the campaign spread from fancy malls to colleges, videos on social media showed men crying out in pain while strapped to the simulator. Women laughed.

To increase awareness, Ms. Sunny also helped set up an art installation, with a take on Michelangelo’s “The Creation of Adam,” in which one hand is holding a menstrual cup.

On a single day this week, 100,000 of the cups were distributed free in Ernakulam. In a district with 900,000 to 1.2 million menstruating-age females, it is a start, Dr. Manuel said.

The campaign intends to do follow-up work over the next four months to ensure the success of the cups. In addition to helping prevent infections, the cups are more environmentally friendly than sanitary napkins, with a life cycle of up to 10 years.

Dr. Manuel said he saw promise when a young man grabbed some cups to take home, calling it the “best gift he could give his mother.”

Mr. Rahman, the restaurateur, said he was a changed man after his single bout with the simulator.

“I have so much more respect for my mother, for my sisters,” he said. “It’s hard for them, that much I know.”

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