High heels should be banned.

In my country, women are slowly getting rights that most of the world takes for granted, but the culture is still sexist as hell. Women are still berated for going out without being covered head to toe, the lack of a hijab can and does result in harassment.<br><br>The most infuriating part of this for me is that high heels are often used in the "haha, women are fragile and stupid" narrative, even though most women don't wear them. Zara abdelnabi is an Egyptian actress who used to work as a model. She was kicked out of a major award show because she was wearing a Grecian style floor length gown and ankle high boots with heels, and was sent home when she refused to change out of it because it "ruined the aesthetic of the show." She was later memed for falling after the incident and "embarrassing the nation."<br><br>Last weekend, my sister tripped on a badly worded and bruised her ankle severely while talking about how the high class women in the country wear their heels to even go grocery shopping and perform housework.<br><br>I've never worn heels in my life, I don't like them but I don't have a problem with other people wearing them. Actually, I have many problems with that. You see, high heels are a status symbol, back in the day, the nobility wore them because they weren't required to do anything that required running or any form of uncomfortable walking. The commoners worked in fields and in mills, they couldn't afford to be uncomfortable at work.<br><br>High heels were popularised by men in the 17th century, and they honestly look better on men too. They fell out of fashion after a few years but when the French revolution happened, the women took the high heels and started wearing them as a form of protest. This was a form of rebellion, they were showing that they didn't need to work like commoners, and the trend caught on. Catwalk after catwalk, the women wore the heels as a status symbol.<br><br>Upon researching this, I found a very well researched paper about how high heels cause health problems. Turns out the health problems from wearing high heels include but are not limited to:<br><br>1\. Ankle and foot pain- heel usage has been linked with a decrease in ankle strength and an increase in the risk of ankle strain.<br><br>2\. Precise gait problems- heels can impede the natural flow of the gait in the walker.<br><br>3\. Increased risk of falls and sprains- heels impede balancing and can cause muscle imbalances.<br><br>4\. Foot pain- toe box pressure is increased when wearing heels, leading to bunions and hammertoes.<br><br>5\. Knee pain- heels alter the way that the knees absorb shock.<br><br>6\. Back pain- the posture that heels enforce can cause back pain and lordosis.<br><br>7\. Osteoarthritis- the unnatural position that the heel puts the foot in inevitably leads to knee and ankle arthritis.<br><br>8\. Tendinitis- the pressure that heels put on the tendons inevitably cause them to swell up and become inflamed.<br><br>9\. Ingrown toenails<br><br>10\. Corns or calluses<br><br>11\. Haglunds deformity- pressure on the heel bone causes bony growths.<br><br>&#x200B;<br><br>I still don't care if people wear heels, and I still don't think they should be banned if people want to wear them. But I think that they should be banned from places that require their employees to wear them. It's not worth endangering employees for the sake of class. Honestly, I don't even understand how wearing heels can be beneficial. Sure, they help in attracting a partner and they can be a fun way to change your style, but is the fun worth the health hazards?