An Israeli bar has decided to give menstruating women a 25% discount on drinks, in an attempt to start a more open dialogue about menstruation.

Moran Barir and Dana Etgar – the owners of Anna Loulou Bar in Tel Aviv who came up with the “Bloody Hour” concept – said it was to acknowledge that women on their period deserve “a favour”. They said since women menstruate for 25% of their lives, they deserve a 25% discount for one night.

“The whole idea is to give a discount, attention and a treat to someone, to say ‘we recognise you, we are aware of the special situation you’re in right now, and hey, we want to do you a favour,’” Barir told Israeli newspaper Haaretz. The discount will be given on the basis of trust.

There is no platform to address the subject of menstruation, Barir said, adding that the idea was to make it easy for women to talk about being on their period. “When it comes to men, I think these evenings will begin to normalise the situation,” she said.