Japanese women rebel against high heels
Women in Japan are fed up with having to wear high-heeled shoes to work. One woman started a movement to end this requirement for female employees. The movement has the hashtag KuToo. This is a combination of the Japanese words that mean "shoe" and "pain". The movement was started by Japanese actress Yumi Ishikawa. She tweeted that employers in Japan should not require female workers to wear high heels. Ms Ishikawa launched an online petition. It asks Japan's government to stop employers requiring women to wear certain types of shoes. Ishikawa's tweet is spreading across Asia. Women in China and South Korea started their own campaigns against having to wear high heels. Ishikawa told TIME magazine: "I thought that if there are so many people who feel the same as me, why not start some sort of movement." Many women on social media complained about sore feet, back pain and other health issues. A visually impaired woman who has to wear high heels at work said it is difficult for her to keep her balance in high heels. A survey found that over 70 per cent of women working in Tokyo wear high heels once a week. |