The KuToo campaign launched by Japanese actor and writer Yumi Ishikawa protests against female staff having to wear high heels at work. The movement which has gained a lot of support is named after the words ‘kutsu’, meaning shoes, and ‘kutsuu’, meaning pain. Ishikawa reported: “Today we submitted a petition calling for the introduction of laws banning employers from forcing women to wear heels as sexual discrimination or harassment.”

Ishikawa’s tweet about how women should not be forced to wear heels for a hotel job was well received, motivating her to start the campaign. She said: “As I realized that so many people face the same problem, I decided to launch the campaign.” This is not the first instance of protest by women in this regard. More than 150,000 people in the UK signed a petition supporting receptionist Nicola Thorp who refused to wear heels at the workplace and was sent home. This is just one example. An inquiry of dress codes at the workplace showed that sometimes women were expected to carry out tasks that were potentially dangerous in heels, such as climbing ladders and carrying heavy luggage.

Canada’s British Columbia province banned companies from forcing women to wear heels saying that it was dangerous and discriminatory to do so. The risk of high heels includes osteoarthritis, plantar fasciitis, tendinitis, foot pain, inflammation and injury, stiffness and muscle spasms. Not only this, permanent residual problems are a reality for one-third of people who wear heels. Heel related injuries include broken bones. Such injuries have increased twofold between the years of 2002 and 2012. It seems grossly unreasonable that something that has so many health risks is a requirement in workplaces.